Kh Asif shouldn’t hide behind excuse of political vendetta: ministers

ISLAMABAD: The government ministers Wednesday urged PML-N leader Khawaja Asif to stop hiding behind the excuse of "political vendetta" and face accountability.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi while addressing a news conference along with Adviser to Prime Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan and Information Minister Shibli Faraz said Khawaja Asif was invited many times to present himself to NAB and satisfy it. "It seems as if Asif couldn't answer NAB's questions (related to assets beyond means)," he said.

The foreign minister said that since Tuesday evening — when Asif was arrested — a storm has erupted and opposition parties have been saying that NAB has been taking revenge on political rivals of the government.

"NAB is an independent institution and is not subservient to the government," he said. "The laws according to which NAB operates were not introduced by the PTI," Qureshi said. The minister said the people should refrain from speaking about a PTI-NAB nexus since the accountability bureau was an independent body.

"Only Khawaja Asif can shed light on why he was arrested," he said. "They say, 'If you ask us questions, we will lay a siege around you,'" said FM Qureshi, hitting out at the PML-N. Qureshi said every person was held accountable in respectable societies world over. "Now we understand why they wanted to amend NAB laws," he said. "They had told us (the government) that if NAB laws are relaxed then (opposition) will hold talks with us," added Qureshi.

He accused the opposition of demanding an NRO from the government, adding that Khawaja Asif had been present in the FATF-related legislation meetings that took place between the government and opposition. He urged Khawaja Asif and other opposition leaders to reply to NAB's accusations and expose them if they were indeed filthy. "But they don't have answers to NAB's questions," he said.

Babar Awan spoke next, hitting out at PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz for saying that Nawaz Sharif should not have been punished for holding an Iqama. "I want to explain to people the various advantages that come with holding an Iqama," he said. "With an Iqama, you can hold accounts in foreign banks," he added.

Babar Awan said that Iqamas are a residency permit that those who work abroad get. He said that money earned through illegal means is sent abroad and then brought back to the country by Pakistan's politicians.

"People who continuously live abroad become locals in foreign countries," he said. "However, why did Nawaz Sharif and Khawaja Asif felt the need to get an Iqama?" he asked. Babar Awan said that Pakistan was that "unfortunate country" from where billions were stolen and stashed abroad. He accused the opposition of making the NRO an excuse or their resignations from the Parliament to escape NAB's accountability.

Shibli Faraz said questions will be asked in the opposition’s requisitioned Senate session and the entire nation will be watching on television what will be the opposition’s answers. The minister continued that though they (the treasury members) were small in numbers, they would ask questions and the opposition members would hopefully give answers.

“We have little hope of getting answers because when they are asked questions…they may not give answers but if questions are asked by the courts or other institutions, they will have to be answerable like any other ordinary citizen,” he made it clear.

He emphasised that the law was not subservient to anyone but all were subservient to it, having nothing to do with age or status. The minister charged that the past rulers used the state institutions for their personal interests and with their facilitation they piled up ill-gotten wealth and shifted it abroad and made people and the country poor, as they focused only on making wealth.

Earlier, in a tweet, the minister said that the government was pursuing the agenda of public welfare under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan. “We will utilise all available resources to implement the prime minister's vision that no one dies hungry. Deserving people are very close to the heart of the prime minister, and the establishment of Panahgahs and Langar Khanas is a step taken under this vision,” he explained.

Shibli said the PPP's “bouncer” had foiled the plans of the PML-N and the JUI-F chief to destabilise the government. He said the PDM that was formed to secure personal gains, had already become ineffective. He said the balloon of PDM has already burst.

He said that Fazlur Rehman and Maryam Nawaz, who are not members of the Parliament, were the twelfth players in game of politics. “The political unemployment of both leaders has been extended indefinitely,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, addressing a condolence reference on the demise of Senator Kulsoom Parveen, Shibli Faraz said that she was a far-sighted woman and astute politician.

Shibli Faraz said that Kulsoom Parveen had been elected a member of the Upper House of the Parliament three times and he was grieved over her demise. He said everyone has to leave this world, the real thing are the good deeds.

He prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear this loss with fortitude.