Qureshi says NAB not linked to govt

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has insisted that there is no link between the government and the the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), calling it an independent organisation as the furore of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari reached the National Assembly.

He also said the NAB should hold across-the-board accountability and there should not be the impression of a witch hunt. Speaking at the floor of the National Assembly while responding to points raised by opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif in his speech, he said NAB was free to act and the government would not become a hurdle in the way of its working.

On the issue of cancellation of bail of Asif Ali Zardari, he said he would not go into details of different phases of the case. The case of Zardari was three-years old and was contested in banking court, NAB court and Islamabad High Court, he said adding there was concept of separation of powers of legislature, judiciary and executive and this point was the central part of the Constitution.

He denied any link between government and NAB, calling it an independent organisation. The foreign minister said as the court could not grant further bail to Zardari it ordered its cancellation. The production order of Zardari could only be issued after the arrest was made, he noted.He said after the arrest, NAB would inform the speaker’s office and it would be discretion of the speaker to take a decision.