They are two of NAB’s biggest hauls in the Punjab. One is a steel mill, the other a real estate concern. But raked in quite a bit of OPM.
It used to be quite a spectacle whenever they would get summoned to the court from the camp jail in Lahore, where they were detained. They would be at the court sharp at eight in the morning, where they would each be greeted by their respective army of lawyers and business managers, handing them legal briefs as well as business files. They would make a day out of it; a picnic at the courts.
One of these fellows was partial to high-end boutique coffee, so his staff would bring in a coffee machine to the court premises. The other one wanted to sit on a special sofa, which would be transported over to the court premises on a truck.
It’s as if someone were making a parody caricature of how the rich do their jail time.
No surprises with the League sweeping the elections of the heads of the local governments in the Punjab. After all, they had already won the lion’s share (no pun intended) of the electoral college in the direct local bodies’ elections last year. This stage of the election was just a formality.
Or was it? It appears that when analysts employ hyperbole when describing the party’s strength in the Punjab (“the real contest is within the PML-N”) they are actually right.
Faisalabad saw a bit of a nail-biter, with Rana Sanaullah’s man squaring off against Ch Sher Ali’s man. The former won, but with help from some unexpected quarters — PTI members, whom Rana Sanaullah had canvassed specifically for this.
Needless to say, Imran Khan was furious and has announced the expulsion of said party members.
