Former ministers’ turn to face NAB, says Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: Senior PMLN leader and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said on Tuesday that a weak person like the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) would now arrest ministers in Imran’s cabinet.

“A person like the NAB chairman will now arrest ministers of the Imran cabinet and they will be detained in the same cells where we were kept,” Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said while talking informally to The News on the eve of his appearance before the accountability court. 

He said it was very easy to arrest political opponents in the name of accountability but the incumbent government would not do so, rather it was the job of NAB. “To do accountability is a very difficult task. When it comes to politics, then the NAB is there,” he said.

The PMLN leader that the NAB was silent over cases against the ministers in the Imran government and did not even file a single reference against any of them in the last nearly four years. He reiterated his demand to abolish the NAB and that its officials be held accountable for their misdeeds because they had victimised politicians. He was of the view that cases against the PMLN leaders in the accountability courts should continue but television cameras should be fixed in courtrooms, so that the people could know reality of references filed against them.

Abbasi also ridiculed President Arif Alvi’s decision of not administering oath to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He said Arif Alvi could continue as president if he acts according to the Constitution and does not feel pain in his teeth.