‘Fake PM won’t be able to dodge his accountability by arresting rivals'

Aseefa Bhutto says Zardar's arrest will not silence the voice of truth

Reacting strongly to former president Asif Ali Zardari’s arrest in the fake bank accounts case, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz on Monday said the ‘fake prime minister’ would not be able to sidestep accountability by arresting his political rivals.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Zardari was arrested by a NAB team from his residence in the federal capital, hours after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) rejected his bail plea in the fake bank accounts case earlier in the day.

Fake bank accounts case: Zardari arrested by NAB as IHC rejects bail plea

Taking to micro-blogging website Twitter, Maryam said separate laws prevailed for masses and those in power in the country. “Fake prime minister [Imran Khan] used to say there were separate laws for rich and poor in Pakistan, but the fact is that there is one law for rich and poor and other for the fake PM and his investors,” she remarked.

قانون سب کے لیے برابر اور احتساب غیر جانبدارنہ ہوتا تو چور دروازے سے آیا جعلی اعظم اپنا اور اپنی بہن کا حساب دینے کے لیئے آج کٹہرے میں ہوتا۔
اپوزیشن کے لیڈران کو چن چن کر گرفتار کرنے سے جعلی اعظم اس جواب سے نہیں بچ سکتا جو اس کو ہر حال میں دینا پڑے گا ۔

— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) June 10, 2019

Maryam, whose father and three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif is also currently languishing in jail, further added that the ‘fake premier’ would have been facing courts for allegedly stealing the public mandate and corruption of his sister if the law and accountability process was equal for everyone in the country.

جعلی اعظم کہتا تھا کہ پاکستان میں غریب کے لئے ایک قانون ہے اور امیر کے لیے دوسرا جبکہ سب سے بڑی حقیقت یہ ہے کہ پورے پاکستان، امیر ہو یا غریب، کے لیے الگ قانون ہے اور جعلی اعظم، اسکے خاندان اور اس کا خرچ اٹھانے والے امیر دوستوں کے لیے الگ قانون۔ انکے لئے کوئی قانون ہے؟

— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) June 10, 2019

Meanwhile, Zardari’s youngest daughter Aseefa Bhutto also fired broadside at the government, saying: “This cowardly selected government thinks throwing opposition into jail will legitimise it. No case, no conviction, no plausible cause. Arresting Asif Ali Zardari will not silence the voice of truth. He was vindicated before and he will be vindicated again.”

This cowardly selected government thinks throwing opposition into jail will legitimise it. No case, no conviction, no plausible cause. Arresting @AAliZardari will not silence the voice of truth. He was vindicated before and he will be vindicated again.

— Aseefa B Zardari (@AseefaBZ) June 10, 2019

She also cast doubts over federal ministers’ knowledge of today’s development days and months before the court’s decision. The daughter of former premier Benazir Bhutto also questioned issuance of arrest warrant before cancellation of bail. “Mockery of justice,” she added.

Curious how Federal Ministers knew about the arrest days and months before the court’s decision. How arrest warrants were issued before bail was cancelled.
Mockery of justice.

— Aseefa B Zardari (@AseefaBZ) June 10, 2019