Ahsan Iqbal’s arrest result of NAB-Imran nexus: Javed Hashmi

MULTAN: Senior politician Javed Hashmi condemned the arrest of PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal and said it was part of political victimisation. Talking to media Tuesday, Javed Hashmi said the government signalled the National Accountability Bureau for arresting those criticising and raising voices for rights and true democracy. The PTI government is taking reprisal actions against political rivals, which was never witnessed even in dictatorial rule in country’s history.

He said there were no solid grounds of arresting Ahsan Iqbal because he was not involved in the so-called charges levelled by NAB against him. He said the arrest of Ahsan Iqbal was the result of NAB-Niazi nexus. The government was misusing accountability drive against political rivals, giving an edge to ruling party ministers named in the NAB references but no action could be taken against them.

He said the PTI government is blackmailing the NAB chairman through scandals for taking desired actions and arresting political rivals. The NAB chairman is forced to take actions against rivals. Former president Pervez Musharraf created the NAB to break political parties and now it is introducing new forms of political victimisation, he added. He said the NAB avoids taking action against cabinet members and shelved their references. He urged the Opposition parties to meet the NAB chairman and demand from him the list of NAB cases against Opposition parties. The government had provided the list to the NAB and then Opposition parties present themselves for mass arrest, he further added. The NAB’s arrest drive can bend the Opposition parties from quitting their commitments, but it would expose the government at all levels.He said the NAB should name it the ‘bureau of political retaliation’ instead ‘bureau of accountability’. He said when no dictator could crush political parties then how the NAB can wipe out the Opposition parties and its leadership. He said the government has failed to deliver, adding inflation and unemployment was increasing massively as a result of its policies.