Shahbaz dares Imran to tell NA who sought NRO

ISLAMABAD: Cursing the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif on Wednesday challenged Prime Minister Imran Khan to tell National Assembly as to who sought NRO from the government or otherwise tender apology on the floor of the House.

“The leader of the house should tell the National Assembly as to who, where and when sought the NRO from the government,” Shahbaz Sharif said while speaking in the National Assembly adding the prime minister should apologise if he could not prove the allegation otherwise he would quit politics.

The opposition leader said the leader of the house should also produce witnesses to support his claim regarding the NRO. “I am asking for witnesses because he (prime minister) backs out of his words and takes U-turns,” he said. He said Imran Khan has once again given a false statement on NRO. “I make this house a witness and say I will quit politics if he proves in the National Assembly that any of PML-N member sought NRO,” Shahbaz Sharif said.

The opposition leader said they have been facing false cases in the past and they would not be afraid of such tactics. “We bow only before Almighty Allah and will not succumb to such pressure,” he said. On the other hand, he said there were NAB cases against the friends of Imran Khan but those cases were dropped thanks to the unholy alliance between the PTI government and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). In this connection, he referred to cases like Malam Jabba resorts, Peshawar Metro Bus project, illegal recruitment and rolling back of the Ehtesab Commission in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. He regretted that Imran Khan made false claims in the past particularly when he alleged that Shahbaz Sharif offered him Rs10 billion with regard to Panama Papers.

“He is an absconder as has not turned up in the House nor appeared after receiving a notice on my application,” he said. As he talked about the unholy alliance of NAB and PTI, the opposition leader said in what capacity did Imran Khan held meeting with NAB chairman.

“Whether the NAB chairman met prime minister or an accused who is facing the NAB case for misuse of provincial government’s helicopter,” he said. He recalled that Khawaja Saad Rafique turned around the staggering Pakistan Railways, but he and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders are receiving NAB notices. Talking about a file which was brought to him during his NAB custody regarding the Punjab Entertainment Company and was asked to comment on that. “I told NAB officials that the company was created during the year 2004 when Chaudhry Pervaiz Ellahi was the Punjab chief minister,” he said. Shahbaz Sharif said that $2.5 million in cash were also transferred to Canada for purchase of cinema equipment which never landed in Pakistan. The opposition leader said one of government ministers said that Shahbaz Sharif is trying to become Nelson Mandela. “Mandela was a great person and he never told lies.”