Corruption crackdown ‘politically motivated’

Rahbar Committee announces holding protest outside NAB Office against Abbasi’s arrest

ISLAMABAD: The Rahbar Committee of the opposition parties has termed the arrests made by the government on corruption charges as “political arrests” and decided to hold a protest outside the NAB office against the arrest of former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

The development came during the third in-camera meeting of the Rahbar Committee presided over by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s Akram Durrani here on Monday.

Briefing the media after the meeting, Durrani said targeting of political leaders, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Peoples Party Co-chairman Asif Zardari, was political victimisation.



He announced that the opposition would hold a protest outside the NAB office against the arrest of Abbasi.
Rahbar Committee convener Akram Durrani said, “[Prime Minister] Imran Khan promised to provide containers, but obstacles were created to stop Maryam Nawaz from holding the rally.”

He said opposition parties would take out rallies all over the country on July 25. “Imran Khan is an uninvited guest in the US tour while the real tour is of the army chief,” said Durrani.
He alleged that there was rigging in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) elections and evidences in this regard would be provided soon.
Durrani said that the opposition’s Peshawar rally would be attended by Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Asfandyar Wali Khan, while PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif would address the rally in Lahore.



He said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would address the rally in Karachi while Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Hasil Bizenjo would address the rally in Quetta. Durrani said, “Even today the opposition has showed that the number of its senators is complete and tomorrow the cameras will capture that in the Senate.”
Durrani said that a petition would be filed in the Supreme Court against censorship on media.

“On July 25, public’s lack of confidence in the government will be seen,” he added.

He accused the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf of resorting to rigging in the tribal areas’ polls. “Even after rigging, they only managed to bag five seats,” said Durrani, adding that proof of rigging had started to come forward.