Most PTI MPs want to amend NAB laws, claims Rana Sana

LAHORE: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi declared Prime Minister Imran Khan the biggest obstacle to amending NAB laws. It was claimed by PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah while quoting his recent talk with Qureshi.

Addressing a press conference at the Khokhar House on Tuesday, Sana claimed Qureshi himself had told him that a majority of PTI members wanted to amend the NAB laws but the “insane” PM was not listening to them. "Qureshi also asked me to send his greetings to both Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif and asked me to abstain from talking in front of Shahzad Akbar because he was an agent of the prime minister," he claimed.

He said he would appeal to Nawaz Sharif to stay in London until his doctors allow him to travel. He said he had come to the Khokhar House to express his support to them and appreciate them for their courage. He said the government had used cheap tactics against them but the Khokhar brothers stood with Nawaz Sharif and his narrative.

“The government has violated the sanctity of house and honour of the opposition members and when our turn comes, we will start from the level set by the government,” he warned. “If today our homes are not safe, tomorrow when the time changes, which will change soon, then houses of any of you will not be safe,” he warned and said the tradition of Punjab is to respect women of worst enemies including their mothers, daughters, sisters and wives, but the government was violating the sanctity of house, privacy and women of the opposition. "The government is trying to declare females of the Sharif family proclaimed offender, who are housewives and never involved in any business.

Everyone knows that people include the names of their females in business to provide shares to them in inheritance and the women do not know how the business is being run and what transactions are taking place. You will face the same situation tomorrow and you would be responsible for it,” he warned. He said the Khokhar family was facing worst revenge by the government.

He alleged that a former Chief Justice, who became part of the government’s revenge, had investigated every inch of land and the house owned by the Khokhar brothers. "He fined them, razed the walls of their home and took other actions at the behest of the shameless government. Later, a bench of the Supreme Court cleared the Khokhar brothers of all charges and passed instructions that their building plans should be regulated, if needed," he claimed, adding that recently the Anti-Corruption along with the LDA and the police came to raze the house of the Khokhar brothers but PML-N workers resisted them along with the Khokhar brothers. "Later, criminal cases were registered against them."

He said the Bani Gala residence of the prime minister was not regularised but a cabinet meeting approved rules to regularise his residence, which was a shameful act. "The government is making rules to regularise the residence of the PM but for the opposition they want to raze their houses, declare their housewives proclaimed offender and implicate them in baseless cases," he added.

“I want to appeal to the Chief Justice of Pakistan as well as Chief Justice of Lahore High Court to stop the ongoing shameful and revengeful campaign of the government against the opposition otherwise entire society would become its victim,” he maintained.

He said the revenge would destroy whole society. "Despite enduring so much revenge, we appeal to those responsible for it to stop it and take notice because excessive retaliation can no longer be tolerated," he maintained.

"Government officials should not follow orders of Bani Gala or the Chief Minister's House to harass the Khokhar family," he warned, adding that only written orders should be obeyed because government officials would be held accountable for their illegal acts in future.

To a question, he said acts like Maulana Shirani's tweets could not block the path of the PDM. He added that a long march and a sit-in would take place as per schedule announced by the PDM.

"When we ask the government to drop false cases, they say we are asking for an NRO," he said and clarified that he had never used words like "yellow taxi" and it was an allegation against him. “In the Model Town tragedy, I swear that there was a clash between the police and Tahir-ul-Qadri's supporters in which there was no conspiracy and it has been proved in the JIT, ATC and Lahore High Court,” he stated. To another question, he said resignations were their last option but it was up to the PDM leadership to decide about them. He announced that whoever rebelled against the party at the stage, their politics would end forever.

He said Firdous Ashiq Awan had failed in Islamabad and she would face the same fate in Punjab. "Punjab Minister Chohan’s politics has already ended," he added. To a question, he said Javed Latif was being targeted politically. He said it was up to the PDM to decide whether or not to take part in by-elections. "Until resignations are accepted, our members will remain part of the assemblies. It is wrong that we asked for an NRO in the name of amending NAB or FATF laws.

The Establishment had said that the NAB Act should be amended as the business community objected to it," he concluded.