Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz on Wednesday refused to appear before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to a call-up notice regarding money laundering, expressing his distrust in the accountability watchdog through a written reply.
“I have lost confidence in the credibility and impartiality of the bureau and thus have no trust in the so-called investigation being carried under the aegis of NAB Chairman (r) Justice Javed Iqbal,” he wrote.
“On account of various factors, I have always had serious reservations as to the motive behind the proceedings by the bureau during the recent past; the said reservations have proven to be well founded on account of an interview of NAB chairman by an eminent journalist wherein the chairman went on to make disclosures compromising minimum standards of impartiality and fairness of an investigation,” he added.
“As per contents, the said interview appears to be a political narrative of the present regime, rather than an account of the impartiality of an investigating agency,” Hamza further said while adding that the instant call-up notice contained questions which he had already responded to earlier.
“I have been declaring all my assets and income related information before the tax authorities and as a public office holder before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as per the law,” he wrote.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader had expressed the same reservations in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on the bench hearing a case against him in the light of a controversial media interview of the NAB chairman.