FIA treading same path as NAB, Zardari tells Nawaz

DUBAI: Reacting to the criticism of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday said the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was also following in the footsteps of NAB.

Drawing the attention of the prime minister, Zardari said, “Your minister had gone on record to say that Dr Asim Hussain had neither committed any theft nor corruption and yet he is still behind bars. Mian Sahib, the FIA has taken the same path that the NAB had adopted.”

Zardari said steps were being taken that were in direct clash with the 18th Amendment.Earlier on Tuesday, Nawaz Sharif, while addressing a gathering of party workers in Bahawalpur, said the NAB needs to take up cases only after thorough initial investigation. “No one should be harassed without verification and solid proofs,” he added.

Meanwhile, the PTI Central Information Secretary Naeemul Haq has strongly reacted to the prime minister’s remarks against the NAB. He alleged that the statement indicated the prime minister himself felt threatened by the Bureau.

He alleged the prime minister, who claimed to have never spoken a lie, had lied to the nation for a long period about his deal with Pervez Musharraf to save his skin and to take shelter at the Suroor Palace in Jeddah.

The PTI spokesman termed the government’s claim of LNG deal with Qatar a big success as ridiculous, saying even his cabinet members had no clue about the deal.He assailed the government for obtaining massive loans and said that the loan on each Pakistani stood at a few thousand rupees, which had now increased to Rs125,000.

He condemned the death of an elderly woman in Gujranwala allegedly at the hands of Nadra employees. He called it a big failure of the Punjab as well as the federal government. He asked the interior minister not to spare the perpetrators.