Hamza evades NAB proceedings

LAHORE: Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz on Wednesday refrained from appearing before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) despite a notice sent to him for possessing assets beyond known means of income and money laundering, and through a written reply expressed his no-confidence in NAB’s impartiality.

His reply said his assets were already declared before the election commission and tax authorities, and he has already responded to the questions in the notice.

Besides, he said, he had lost confidence in the credibility and impartiality of the bureau after the recent interview of NAB chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal. He said he has serious reservations and expresses no-trust in the so-called investigation being carried out by NAB officials headed by Javed Iqbal.

Hamza said due to various factors, he always had serious reservations about the motives behind NAB's proceedings during the recent past, which proved justified in view of the interview of the NAB chairman who made disclosures compromising minimum standards of impartiality. That interview is tantamount to a political narrative of the present regime, he said, adding in his view, the NAB has lost its credibility as the prime investigation agency. One day earlier, Hamza had also expressed lack of trust in a bench of the Lahore High Court hearing his appeal for extending the interim bail in the cases of Ramzan Sugar Mills, Saaf Pani and assets beyond means of income, citing the controversial media interview of the NAB chairman.

He said the NAB chairman in his interview had warned that he (chairman) would not let Hamza hide behind the relief of bail any longer and arrest him soon.