PPP not to bow whatever NAB may do

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) accused the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of being a tool of political victimisation and demanded an across-the-board accountability for politicians, civil and military bureaucracy. It said the NAB may do whatever it wanted to but the PPP would not bow before it.

“The NAB has been turned into political arm twisting tool and it’s time that the chairman NAB must prove that he was neutral in accountability for all those who draw salary from the national exchequer either they may be politicians or civil and military bureaucrats,” said the Secretary General PPP Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, Secretary General PPP Parliamentarians Farhatullah Babar, while addressing a press conference along with Information Secretary Senator Maula Buksh Chandio, Dr Nafisa Shah and Nazir Dhoki here on Tuesday.

Bukhari said the PPP is facing accountability since 1990. “Now whenever the Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari takes a tough stance against the government, NAB begins to send notices,” he said. He said the notice to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is against the law and the NAB has not examined its own law before sending the notice to the PPP chairman.

“At the time of registration of the Park Lane company, the age of the Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was only one year and he was only a minority shareholder of the company,” he said.

He said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Faryal Talpur are being summoned in political motivated cases. “There is a no crime to purchase a land and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was summoned in this case after 21 years,” he said.

The Secretary General PPP Parliamentarians Farhatullah Babar said it is now confirmed that the NAB is a political tool and its chairman only works on political signals. He called for the amendment in the NAB laws, saying there should be even handed laws for all those who get the salary from the national exchequer. “We will not bow before the NAB irrespective of whatever action it takes against the PPP leadership,” he said. Babar said FIA, NAB notices begin to flow against the PPP Chairman whenever he takes the government to task.

Senator Maula Buksh Chandio said the PPP has faced the dictatorships of Ayub, Yahya, Pervez Musharraf and will now face those at the helm of the affairs. He said the chairman NAB was a former judge and he must prove his neutrality.

Meanwhile, Farhatullah Babar announced that Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would not appear before the NAB and would be instead represented by his defence counsel Senator Farooq H Naek. Farhatullah Babar chose the social media network Twitter to tweet that Bilawal Bhutto will not appear before the NAB on December 13. Through another tweet, Babar said, “Imran had offshore company, no action. He grabbed state land in Banigala. Master plan of capital changed to regularise it. His sibling exposed owning properties in Dubai, no action. Chairman NAB is angry why parliament doesn't trust his word. Take a deep breath, look inwardly.”

Earlier, the National Accountability Bureau summoned former president Asif Ali Zardari and Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for inquiry against an alleged illegal land of Park Lane Estate company (Pvt), on Thursday (December 13).

According to NAB, during the course of investigation, it was found that "the revenue officers in connivance with the CDA officials on an application from M/s Park Lane Estate Company (Pvt) Ltd, extended undue and illegal benefits by demarcating and handing over possession of 118K-14M forest land to the company,” the NAB stated while giving a background of the case against former president Asif Ali Zardari and Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.