Only Bilawal and I are facing investigations, complains Hamza

LAHORE: Opposition leader in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz has said “only Bilawal and I are facing NAB investigations and those in the government are being spared”.

Talking to the media after appearing before a team of National Accountability Bureau here on Tuesday, he said he also had some questions for NAB, like why cases were ignored against the one who misused an official helicopter, and why that accused held meetings with NAB officials and under what capacity, and why his sisters and mother were sent notices and billions of rupees of assets of Aleema Khan were ignored.

He asked why NAB could not see corruption in Peshawar Metro bus, but the agency was pursuing cases against the Sharif family, Khaqan Abbasi, Saad Rafiq and Bilawal Bhutto only. He said it was a sign of doomsday that the disqualified Jahangir Tareen, who committed billions of rupees corruption in the name of gardeners and peasants, was lecturing the nation on justice and accountability. Is this that Naya Pakistan which Imran Khan had promised to the nation, he asked.

Hamza warned that if corruption and money-laundering cases against his family were not proved, Prime Minister Imran Khan would have to tender an apology on top of the same container on which he had been fooling the nation.

It is height of victimisation that Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar had been accusing his family of Rs85 billion money-laundering, while the interior ministry said that money-laundering of Rs33 billion was committed. However, on Tuesday, during his appearance at NAB offices, he was told that the matter was of Rs120 million, remitted to him from abroad in August 2005, he said.

Hamza said he was not a public office-holder at that time and was under detention by Gen Musharraf regime, along with his cancer patient father, all brothers and sisters were outside the country and he could not have done anything illegal. He said during that time, NAB confiscated Rs120 million from him, which was later recovered on the Supreme Court orders.

Hamza said the Imran government obtained Rs3300 billon loans during his eight months rule, and had been committing economic murder of poor citizens through hiking prices of essential commodities and utilities. On top of it, government had signed the IMF agreement for huge foreign loans, but still claiming that it would not cause price-hike in the country.

Hamza alleged that the PTI government was sending NAB notices to the Sharif family only to divert public attention from its failures. He alleged that Imran Khan was a liar and would be completely exposed before the nation very soon.