CM Shehbaz rejects NAB money laundering allegations against Nawaz

Says the claims were previously dismissed by World Bank

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Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif rejected money laundering allegations levelled by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against his brother Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday.

Speaking to the media in Lahore, CM Shehbaz quipped that the anti-graft watchdog’s sun was shining brightly in Punjab. He pointed out that the money laundering claims had been dismissed by the World Bank already.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president was referring to a notice taken by NAB Chairman Javed Iqbal on a two-year old WB report doing the rounds that Nawaz laundered $4.9 billion to India.

The claims were shot down by the Washington-based multilateral agency on the same day as its local office denied that allegations were levelled against the PML-N leader in its remittance report.

“In the past day, there have been media reports citing the World Bank’s Remittances and Migration Report of 2016. These media reports are incorrect,” stated World Bank. “The report does not include any mention of money laundering nor does it name any individuals."

Similarly, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had also categorically rejected the report in 2016 that suggested an outflow of $4.9 billion from Pakistan to India as remittances and had termed it contrary to facts.

Assassination attempt on interior minister



Reflecting on the assassination bid on Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Shehbaz stressed on the importance of identifying and addressing the cause of impatience in society. He said if the issue was not addressed, it may bring about irreplaceable losses. “All stakeholders need to jointly work on resolving this issue. Pakistan can only work with unity. Together we will make this the state that Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal dreamt of it.”

He added that the interior minister was in stable condition.

On Forensic labs in the country

Boasting on his government’s performance, CM Punjab said Punjab’s forensic science labs was of assistance to other provinces in cases such as Mardan rape and murder. “The Kasur and Mardan trials could not have been concluded without Punjab’s forensic lab.”