Bilawal wants NAB’s abolition

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Sunday the government agreed with the stance of former president Asif Ali Zardari that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the country’s economy could not run together. He also demanded for abolishing the anti-graft watchdog.

In a tweet, the PPP chairman said the latest NAB Amendment Ordinance was a proof that even the government agreed with Zardari that the NAB and the economy could not run together. “Instead of clearly biased efforts the government should work with the opposition. Do your job and legislate. Abolish NAB, strengthen anti-corruption laws and end this farce,” he said.

Separately, PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira has termed the NAB ordinance the “mother of all NROs (National Reconciliation Ordinance)”.

“Khan Sahab used to accuse us of asking for NROs all this while. The NAB ordinance is the mother of all NROs. What will he say about that,” asked Kaira while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday.

According to Geo News, he accused the government of bringing about amendments in the NAB ordinance to save itself from accountability, saying the anti-graft body held people from the two (opposition) political parties accountable. “Those who joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have been washed of all their sins,” he said, accusing the government of filing “false” corruption cases against the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders.

The PPP leader wondered who Prime Minister Imran Khan was referring to in his speech on Saturday wherein he accused some people of objecting to the government’s reforms, saying Khan should clarify this.

Kaira went on to say that the Prime Minister was about to take the last u-turn of his political career. “Khan Sahab will now take one last u-turn due to which he will leave politics the same way he came into it,” he said. “This will be his biggest u-turn of all.”

He also said the PPP did not want to move court over menial issues, adding the party wanted to discuss the NAB ordinance in parliament, which was the proper forum for discussion.

Kaira slammed the government for registering “politically motivated” cases against the PPP workers for chanting slogans during the party’s December 27 rally at Liaquat Bagh. He said youths were charged during the December 27 rally and “they got carried away” while chanting slogans. He urged the government to withdraw the cases.

He accused the government of trying to stop the PPP from holding its rally at Liaquat Bagh by sending NAB notices to Bilawal. The PPP leader said the movement against the government “has taken off” and no one will be able to stop it anymore.