NAB initiates new probe against Sharif family members

Maryam urges judges to right their wrongs and restore sanctity of the judiciary

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has initiated a money laundering and income beyond means investigation against some family members of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif.

The inquiry by NAB Rawalpindi was initiated on Friday, according to reports. It is learnt that those facing investigation include Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Hamza Shehbaz, Yousaf Abbass and other co-owner of the Chaudary Sugar Mills Ltd.

According to the media reports, NAB has summoned Yousaf Abbas on July 23 to its Lahore Office. The reports have indicated that the investigators were also likely to send a questionnaire to Maryam Nawaz instead of sending a call-up notice.

However, when contacted, the staff of Maryam Nawaz on Saturday denied any knowledge of NAB proceedings against her and the members of the Sharif family. “We don’t have any knowledge about any such inquiry, nor have we received any such notice,” Maryam Nawaz’s political secretary said.

Meanwhile, speaking to reporters after attending a meeting of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Central Executive Committee, Maryam Nawaz appeared unfazed by the arrests of party leaders, saying: “The PML-N is a big public force… [arrests] cannot deter its resolve.”

Speaking about the hearing of a case against her in the accountability court in Islamabad, she sarcastically said that during her court appearance on Friday, security arrangement made by the government looked like “if our country is under attack by India”.

Firing a broadside against the prime minister, she said the world “recognises Imran Khan as a selected prime minister. She ruled out the possibility of requesting a “selected prime minister” for a deal for Sharif family.

She urged the judiciary to take notice of the forensic audit of the video, which “has proven its authenticity”, saying that the “judges should rise to right the wrong and restore the sanctity of the judiciary”.

She also condemned media censorship and blackouts. Regarding her Faisalabad rally, she said that despite the hurdles created by the government in her way, she would proceed ahead with the planned gathering.