Shehbaz blasts 'NAB-Niazi' nexus

PML-N demands production order for Saad Rafique

LAHORE: Former ruling party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has threatened it will not let the parliament session run if Khawaja Saad Rafique’s production orders are not issued.

The final decision, whether or not to boycott the session, would however be taken on Thursday before start of the assembly session.

The PML-N held a parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday and termed recent arrests of its senior leaders as worst ever political victimisation by the ‘NAB-Niazi-Unholy-Matrimony’.

The parliamentary party said the ruling party has turned the country into a monarchy by casting aside every rule, regulation and law of Pakistan.

“If Rafique’s production orders aren’t issued, PML-N will not let the session run,” the meeting agreed, which was held under the chairmanship of party president Shehbaz Sharif.

The meeting vehemently condemned the arrest of Khawaja Saad Rafique and Khawaja Salman Rafique, the ‘pointless’ travel ban on Hamza Shehbaz and the initiation of an inquiry against Marriyum Aurangzeb.

“These tactics won’t silence us and the opposition will fight this vengeful onslaught with strength, resilience and truth,” maintained the PML-N leaders.

They added that Rafique, who served as the railways minster in PML-N’s last tenure, pulled a drowning national institution back onto its feet and his arrest is an insult to all those who aspire to serve Pakistan.

The moot pointed out how the anti-graft watchdog is being used as a tool by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government where PML-N leaders were being targeted without sound legal reasoning while on the other hand proven corrupt people with cases of mega corruption are treated as untouchables only because they were under the umbrella of the government.

They pointed out Prime Minister Imran Khan was wanted in the Helicopter misuse case; Jahangir Tareen was disqualified and under inquiry for mass money laundering and corruption yet still running state business; Aleema Khan’s NRO; Aleem Khan, “the known land-grabber” being given the post of senior minister instead of being arrested; silence over Malam Jabba case; and innumerable other such instances are testament of the double standards.

The PML-N leadership stated PTI had failed miserably to run the country and has brought it to the verge of crisis which is why it has no option but to distract people with these gimmicks.

Meanwhile, addressing the meeting, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif said   every single day PTI is pushing Pakistan deeper and deeper down the pit of depression while the economy is at the brink of devastation all because of PM Imran’s brainless incoherent ramblings.

“I successfully defended, to the last detail every single one of PML-N’s projects during the 62 days of illegal abduction in NAB’s mental torture cell. Even they admit we brought the country out of shadows of power crisis,” he said adding finance minister Asad Umar had confessed every single one of the CPEC project was as transparent as it gets.

Shehbaz slammed the arrests of Rafiques and paid tribute to the political, social and national services rendered by the brothers for Pakistan.

“Salman was part of my government in Punjab and he had known him to be a very noble gentleman who served the people with all his heart,” he said questioning as to what precedent is NAB looking to set for the people of Pakistan by arresting and harassing those who serve the country.

The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly stated an anonymous inquiry against Marriyum Aurangzeb has only one motive and that is to silence her objective criticism of this disastrous tenure.

“The people of Pakistan are watching this terrible witch-hunt and they wouldn’t be fooled by such distracting tactics,” said Shehbaz adding mega lies of the government have been exposed.

He urged the party leaders and workers not to be fazed by this spree of political victimization and to focus on the real challenges faced by the country and to strive for social justice, economic growth and poverty alleviation.