Khawaja Asif claims PM behind his arrest

Ag Agencies

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Khawaja Asif on Wednesday alleged that Prime Minister Imran Khan was “100 per cent” behind his arrest, as an accountability court granted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) one-day transit remand and directed them to produce the former defence minister before the relevant court in Lahore today (Thursday).

Asif was arrested by the NAB a day earlier in an assets probe and was produced before the court in Islamabad the following day. During the hearing, Khawaja Asif’s lawyer opposed the transit remand and argued that the defence had not been told the grounds of the arrest yet. He requested the court to order his client to be released, which was rejected by the judge. The court observed that the NAB had requested for transit remand, the remaining matters were now associated with the Lahore accountability court.

Khawaja Asif told the court that he had not been told the reasons for arrest. To this, the NAB prosecutor Sohail Arif said the grounds and warrants were shared with him at the time of arrest. Asif said the documents had no signatures, to which the court ordered the NAB to share a copy of the warrants with the accused having signatures. After listening to arguments from both sides, the court granted one-day transit remand of Asif and directed the anti-graft body to present him to the relevant court in Lahore on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters outside the court, Asif said his arrest was an attempt to weaken party supremo Nawaz Sharif. He added that there were attempts to break up the party in the last two-and-a-half years.

When a reporter asked Asif to elaborate on a statement made by Maryam claiming that Asif had been told all cases against him would be dropped if he stood against Nawaz Sharif, the ex-defence minister said: “This is what we are all being told.”

Separately, at a workers convention Maryam Nawaz defiantly said if the Prime Minister thinks that the PML-N would be cowed by Khawaja Asif’s arrest, he is mistaken.

At a news conference later, foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said opposition leaders should produce money trails to the NAB instead of playing the “political victimisation” card. “Whenever NAB acts, it is called political victimisation or threatens to siege. In every civilised society, no one is above law,” he said.

“It appears that Khawaja Asif could not satisfy NAB on allegations of money laundering and assets beyond means,” Qureshi said. He was flanked by information minister Shibli Faraz and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan.

The foreign minister said instead of hurling allegations, the opposition leaders should come up with evidence to nullify the NAB’s allegations. He told media that Khawaja Asif was invited by the NAB to explain his position in the case and it was only he who could respond to the queries raised on his properties and assets.

Qureshi said following Asif’s arrest, the “facts were becoming clearer” as to why the opposition had been linking its support to FATF legislation with the abolition of 34 out of 38 clauses in accountability laws.

“Today, I understand… We were astonished as what was the link between NAB law and FATF. As the things are developing, it shows they were using FATF as shield to amend NAB law,” the foreign minister remarked. He said despite the government’s efforts to delink the proposed amendments to NAB law with FATF legislation, the opposition was adamant on linking their support with the acceptance of their demands.

He said things were emerging with the cases of money laundering against opposition leaders and that was why they were seeking National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). “NRO is the name of relief. It was a programme to save their skin and seek deliverance,” he said.

He told media that even the supporters of Maulana Fazlur Rehman also asked how the NAB could “dare” call their leader to explain his assets. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan never declared himself above the law when he was asked to prove his assets.

He produced even a decades-old documentary evidence in his defence. The opposition should also follow the same course and provide money trail, he added.

He told media that the NAB was an independent institution not answerable to the government and linking the two is “inappropriate”.