Opposition shouldn't use Parliament as shield to cover corruption: Shafqat

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood reacting protest of the opposition parties against arrest of Agha Siraj Durrani, advised them not to use the Parliament as shield to cover corruption and move the court of law to seek relief.

“As to why the Parliament is being dragged into the issue of arrest of Agha Siraj Durrani,” Shafqat Mahmood while speaking on floor of National Assembly in response to speeches of Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Syed Khursheed Shah said.

The minister maintained that the National Accountability (NAB) neither comes in control of the Federal government nor it takes instructions from it. “I am not defending NAB but want to make it clear that it is an independent institution and we have no control on it,” he said.

As the opposition members were raising slogans of ‘Black Law’, the minister questioned them as to why the two opposition parties tried to do away with the NAB Law in their last two tenures five years each.‘ The NAB Law was brought in by Musharraf in the year 2001 but as to why the PPP and PML-N Governments changed it,” he said adding that one third of the Constitution was changed through 18th Amendment but NAB Law was not touched by the PPP and PML-N governments.

He also reminded the protesting members that the incumbent chairman NAB was appointed with consultation between then former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah. “Instead of protesting in the Parliament, you should go to the court to seek relief,” Shafqat Mahmood said advising the opposition members to lodge protest with their leader for not changing the NAB Law.

He maintained that Speaker of an assembly was never above from law pointing out that Senior Punjab Minister Abdul Aleem Khan was also arrested by NAB but the PTI members did not resort to any protest in the Parliament.