- Sharjeel Memon questions why his name had been placed on ECL despite him being abroad
- CM Shah says NAB’s double standards should be investigated
KARACHI: Taking full advantage of their numerical strength in Sindh Assembly, the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmakers on Wednesday managed to pass a resolution against ‘biased’ policies of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The resolution was tabled by the PPP in the very first sitting of the assembly after the arrest of former provincial minister Sharjeel Inam Memon in Rs5.76 billion corruption case in the Sindh information department.
Opposition parties including Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) opposed the resolution, however, the ruling party managed to get the resolution passed owing to their numerical strength.
The resolution was moved by PPP MPA Khursheed Ahmed Junejo who said that the corruption watchdog had ‘biased’ policies of accountability in Sindh.
“This house strongly condemns the biased policies of NAB, as shown in the arrest of Sharjeel towards whom the evidence is personally driven, adopted to tarnish his image and to create a political turmoil. This arbitrary treatment by the NAB is completely discriminatory, unlawful and contrary to the Article 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan,” the resolution read.
PPP leader Sharjeel Inam Memon, who was taken into custody over alleged corruption allegations, was accompanied to Sindh Assembly by authorities amid tight security.
Upon his arrival, PPP activists welcomed Memon by raising party slogans and throwing flower petals on him. Memon refused to talk to media adding that he would present his views after the assembly session would conclude.
Addressing the Sindh Assembly session, Memon severely criticised the double standards of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and questioned why his name had been placed on ECL despite him being abroad.
“I request NAB chairman to tell me the criteria to put people’s name on ECL,” he said. “Mian Nawaz Sharif is facing NAB references, has his name been put on ECL? Ishaq Dar is facing references, has his name been put on ECL?” he added.
He further stated, “Nawaz Sharif is out of the country, Ishaq Dar is travelling all over the world holding meetings, why are their names not on the ECL?”
Memon also questioned the accountability process, interrogating why he had been arrested upon landing in Islamabad despite him having procured a bail from Islamabad High Court. “When Captain Safdar arrived at Islamabad, the NAB was not given permission to enter the airport. Why such double standards exist right now?” he asked.
“Again on the day [Oct 23], I was arrested from court — they arrested me from the steps of the court,” he said. “Was that not contempt of court when the law says that no arrests are to be made inside the court’s premises?” he added.
He stated that media coverage was a proof to the fact that he had been taken into custody from the court premises, but the NAB’s prosecution maintained in court that he was arrested from Shahra-e-Iraq near passport office.
He further argued, “There are a number of other points I can raise about my trial here, but this is not the forum to do that, however, I would still want to know, under what law were the 11 people arrested along with me being kept in custody since there were no arrest warrants issued for them in the first place,” Memon said.
“Who I should appeal to?” asked the PPP lawmaker.
He further stated that he had earlier conveyed to the Sindh chief minister that even if NAB laws becomes ineffective in Sindh, he was willing to face charges against him as per the NAB laws and did not want them shifted to the new accountability commission.
“I am ready to defend myself in any court, it was much easier for me to remain abroad. But I preferred to face court and answer all charges levelled against me,” Memon said.
The PPP leader, who had returned to the country from self-imposed exile in March this year, had obtained protective bail in April in connection with an enquiry initiated by the top graft-buster. Memon had fled the country in 2015 to Dubai after NAB launched a crackdown against corrupt political figures and bureaucrats as part of the Karachi operation.
Sharjeel Memon was arrested by NAB immediately after his plane landed from Dubai in Islamabad. However, the authorities released him after interrogation. On October 23, he was arrested by law enforcers from the premises of the SHC after his interim bail was rejected in the graft case.
He is on a judicial remand until November 4.
He, however, claims that the charges against him are politically driven.
CM Shah backs Memon’s stance
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah urged the members of the provincial assembly to unanimously put forward the resolution proposed by PPP against the ‘mistreatment’ and ‘dual standards’ of the National Accountability Bureau.
Shah stated that the resolution was proposed to challenge the rejection of bail plea of Sharjeel Memon, adding that it proved the dual standards of NAB.
Speaking on the floor, Sindh CM clarified that they were critical of NAB’s actions and that it did not imply criticism of the courts. “In a previous resolution, we had already said that accountability is a provincial matter and not a federal matter. We said it because we disagreed with the NAB’s conduct,” he explained.
“We have no problem in respecting the courts. In fact, we accept the court’s authority in all matters,” he claimed. “However, NAB should be investigated for the double standards,” he asserted.
The chief minister urged the Sindh High Court to seek action against NAB for misleading the court by stating that Memon was arrested at Shahra-e-Iraq when he had actually been taken into custody from the court premises.
“Everyone knows that Memon was arrested from the premises of SHC. They [NAB] have committed contempt of court,” he added.
Shah, while reading out the judgment of SHC, stated that the actions of NAB in Sindh were denying the civil liberties to the accused subjects. “It is sad that SHC is standing for Sindh but not the Sindh Assembly,” he added.
Shah urged the Opposition Leader Syed Sardar Ahmed to support his party on the proposed resolution that preserves the rights of Sindh province. There is no hidden agenda behind the resolution, he claimed.
MQM’s Khawaja Izharul Hasan said that his party cannot vote in the favour of resolution as the matter was sub-judicial. “It seemed that the resolution was brought to make an impact on the institutions,” he said, adding that there was no argument that an MPA should be treated in a better way as he got selected with the votes of thousands of people, but at the same time a union council chairman also has the right of getting the same privilege.
He also said that corruption was a scourge for the society and accountability should be done without any discrimination.
PML-F’s Nusrat Seher Abbasi lambasted the ruling party and said that instead of criticising the institutions, the persons who were nominated in corruption cases should face the trial. The august assembly should not be used for personal interests, she said.
Later, the deputy speaker who was chairing the house in absence of the speaker put the resolution to the house and it was adopted.
The house was adjourned to meet again on Thursday today.