Condemning Maryam Nawaz’s arrest by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif termed the development a continuation of political victimisation against opposition parties.
“The decision to arrest Maryam in front of her father and his grandchildren is shameful and highly regrettable,” Shehbaz said in a statement.
“Imran Khan should focus on protecting Kashmir’s status instead of targeting the opposition and Maryam was arrested for rallying and protesting against the rights of Kashmiris.”
He accused Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government of conspiring against the country, and said that in a rage of political revenge the government did not have the acumen to understand the sensitivity of the prevailing crisis, he added.
PML-N leaders including Marriyum Aurangzeb and Ahsan Iqbal, also accused the government of political victimisation, and protested against the detention outside the National Assembly.
Iqbal said the arrest was made to divert the attention from the Kashmir dispute and maintained that consensus over Kashmir resolution by Parliament had been broken with the arrest of Maryam.
انتقام کیلیے موجودہ حکومت جس طرح بے دردی سے اداروں کو استعمال کررہی ہے یہ کوئی اچھی روایت نہیں ہےآج ظاہر ہوگیا ہے کہ حکومت مریم نواز کی مقبولیت سے کس قدر خوفزدہ ہے.@KhawajaMAsif pic.twitter.com/KmTj3kKCBw
— PMLN (@pmln_org) August 8, 2019
Maryam’s arrest in Lahore comes just a day after authorities took former finance minister Miftah Ismail into custody on graft charges.
Last month, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was also arrested.
Her father, who served as prime minister three times, was sentenced in 2018 to seven years in jail for corruption.
She was also convicted in the Avenfield properties reference for seven years. The Islamabad High Court, however, suspended the sentence and ordered her release.
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