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Thursday March 28, 2024

NAB to arrest Hamza when it deems necessary, says Fayyaz

By Jawwad Rizvi & Khalid Khattak
December 15, 2018

LAHORE: Punjab Information and Culture Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan has said National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will arrest Hamza Shahbaz when it will deem it necessary in connection with investigation.

Talking to reporters outside the Punjab Assembly on Friday, he said hypocrisy of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) was exposed on the production orders issue in Punjab. It stopped legislation on the issue ten times in the past as they were in power, but now they were making hue and cry over it.

However, he added, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is aparliamentary and democratic party, and it has already started process for legislation about the production order law.

Fayyaz said the Khwaja brothers were making hue and cry for the last two days, saying they were not served omelettes in breakfast. “But they must know that they are not on picnic or attending a birthday party at Shalimar gardens that they are asking for Qorma, Nihari and other food items,” he said. The minister said they had been arrested by NAB for corruption, loot and plunder. He said these politicians started politics on motorbikes, and now they had become billionaires.

The minister said that both of them were arrested on mega corruption charges and NAB was investigating them under the law. He said that now they must face the punishment with same consistency with which they committed corruption.

He said that Qaiser Ameen Butt informed NAB that Nadeem Zia were front man while Khwaja Saad and Khwaja Salman were the owners. He warned Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Zardari that Pakistan was no more Bilawal House where they rule; rather it is a 21st century Pakistan where everyone is answerable. Even, Imran Khan or Fayyazul Hassan Chohan will appear before the Supreme Court or any other institution if they would be called, he added.

To a question, Fayyaz said making approver was not invented by NAB, rather this provision existed in every society and law. He said reclaiming 759,428-kanal land was a historic achievement. He said prime minister and Punjab chief minister had no personal links with the property tycoons. He took the credit for bringing Hamza Shahbaz to assembly as he returned to the House after attempting to flee to London.

On Public Accounts Committee appointment, he said the decisions of Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar would be accepted. He termed that PTI won in PP-168 by-election as a herald of new revolution in Lahore. Further, he said that the PML-N had now become NAB League while looting and plundering was hobby of it.

Latter, Senior Minister Punjab Abdul Aleem Khan said that the opposition was reaping what they sowed and that was the reason the laws made for others are today being implemented against them.

He said during its regime PML-N leadership never imagined that one day their family and their allies would be facing it. He said why no remedy was sought on the questions being raised today by the opposition for getting relief for themselves. He said that Hamza Shahbaz should be questioned as to why Abdul Aleem Khan was interrogated after taking part in the bye-election of NA-122.

Abdul Aleem Khan, speaking on the occasion, congratulated all party workers and leadership on getting success in by-election of PP-168 and said that no government powers were used in this constituency.

He said that the PTI lost it in different areas in by-elections but no one could put allegation that any government machinery has been used like Nawaz league. Abdul Aleem Khan claimed that though this victory margin is very thin, yet we are hopeful that journey of success will continue in future as well and masses would endorse the policies of Prime Minister Imran Khan in the country.

Aleem Khan said that new political traditions were set in the country and now government machinery was not used for political motives. He said that PTI political opponents were also unable to point finger that Sui gas, Wapda or other any functionary was used for getting victory anywhere. Similarly, no minister or Member Assembly visited any constituency.

To a question, Aleem Khan said that there was no provision in Punjab Assembly for issuing production orders for some member so the speaker cannot do anything for Khwaja Salman Rafique. He said that hue and cry in this regard is useless and the PML-N would have to think why attention was not paid to such points while they were in power.