- Zardari following hidden agenda, claims Saad Rafique
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders on Tuesday maintained that their party president Nawaz Sharif is being subjected to personal revenge.
They were talking to media outside the accountability court where Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and Captain (r) Safdar appeared for the hearing in connection with three corruption references filed against them by National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
“The real offenders are not appearing before the court. Imran Khan has been declared absconder by this court but he is roaming freely in Pakistan and has failed to submit a reply in the Supreme Court (SC). Same goes for Jahangir Tareen,” said Privatisation Minister Daniyal Aziz.
“What is shocking is that interim challan by NAB in the references has been filed in the court. It is mentioned in the Panama Case Volume 10 that NAB failed to get mutual legal assistance from England, then how can they claim that Nawaz Sharif is the owner of flats. We have demanded to make Volume 10 public,” he asserted.
Aziz said that the whole record of corruption cases against Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Zardari has gone missing from NAB. He added that in the corruption case against former PM Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, only four witnesses were produced by NAB in the last four years. He added that Nawaz Sharif is being signalled out and targetted.
State Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb also slammed Imran Khan and said that he holds a power show of abuses and misconduct.
“A few days back, I heard Imran Khan saying that some brigadier aided PML-N to win the 2013 general election. I don’t understand why Khan is not served any notice and summoned to court for accusing a uniformed officer, maligning and contradicting the army and state institutions,” she said, adding that he is making the institutions controversial.
Maryam Aurangzeb said that Sharif family appeared before the SC, despite the impression given that they were avoiding courts. She added that Sharif family was appearing before the accountability court despite serious reservations because they respected the rule of law.
She said that Nawaz Sharif was sent packing on the basis of an Iqama while no corruption could be traced during the period when he was Punjab chief minister and prime minister.
Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique said Zardari is following a hidden agenda and PPP itself is worried about it. He said it is not for the first time that Nawaz Sharif is being tried and victimised. Sharif family is not undergoing accountability but revenge. “Democracy is not being allowed to make a stronghold in the country,” he said.
He added that one party is demanding early elections but these could be held on schedule if the constitutional amendment is made for the delimitation of constituencies on the basis of the new census.
Saad Rafique added that he did not want to target anyone personally, but the PPP is in the grip of Zardari. He accused Zardari of restraining PPP from participating in the legislation process to pass the delimitation bill.
Rafique said that the opposition of delimitation bill by a serious political party like PPP could harm democracy.
Environment Minister Mushahidullah Khan said Nawaz Sharif was targetted first for nuclear tests and now when he has made Pakistan an economic power and resolved problems of terrorism, electricity and gas load shedding, he is again being victimised.
