–Shehbaz Sharif had earlier said that the party was not concerned with anyone’s private life
ISLAMABAD: Hours after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif said that his party would remain neutral on the recent scandal relating to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal, the party’s Senior Vice President Shahid Khaqan Abbasi demanded the constitution of a parliamentary committee for probing the allegations.
Addressing a press conference alongside party leaders Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Mohsin Ranjha and Abbas Afridi on Friday, the former premier said that under Rule 244(B) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007, a parliamentary body should be formed to probe the issue as it was of national importance.
He said that PML-N has been skeptical about the NAB chief since the day he assumed charge of the office, adding that the party now wants a parliamentary committee to look into the matter.
He also said that it appears as if the NAB chief is under a lot of pressure and the way recent incidents have unfolded, the pressure could be linked with the Prime Minister’s House.
He alleged that members of the ruling party are involved in such matters, adding that the TV channel that broke the news was owned by Prime Minister Imran Khan’s close aide who had also funded the party’s 2018 election campaign.
Earlier in the day, Shehbaz took to Twitter to express his views on the matter. He said, “Our viewpoint on NAB is principled and we will keep voicing our concerns on all forums.”
“PML-N has nothing to do with anybody’s private life and will stick to its political and legal narrative!,” he continued in his tweet.
Earlier, the NAB had refuted the scandalous audio and video aired by a private news channel against the bureau’s chief, labelling the video libellous, propagandist and fake.
NAB said in a statement that it was an attempt to blackmail the state institution over ongoing corruption investigations against a gang of blackmailers.
The woman in the video alleged that she had been threatened with NAB inquiries if she failed to submit to Justice (r) Iqbal’s wishes.
The NAB press release claimed that 42 cases of blackmail and kidnappings for ransom had been registered against the gangsters. It added that the concocted video is an attempt to discredit the bureau’s name and an attempt to influence the impending inquiries against the blackmailing group.
The press release said that the gang’s leader Farooq was already imprisoned at Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore.
The media channel disregarded due process and aired the story bringing damage to the foremost accountability institute of the country, the press release further entailed, adding that NewsOne channel, that had aired the report, had issued an apology to the NAB chairman.
