Bilawal appears before NAB, says summons are political victimisation
PPP leader appears before NAB after third summon
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/ BBZ
RAWALPINDI:
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari appeared before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) – after the third summon – to record his statement in the ongoing fake accounts and money laundering case.
Appearing before the accountability watchdog's Rawalpindi team, the PPP leader recorded his statement and spoke to the media outside NAB's office.
He claimed that he was not involved in any business activities and NAB is aware of the fact.
"Even If I was involved in private business practices, NAB does not have any jurisdiction to investigate a private business,” Bilawal said.
“I was not even a public office holder when NAB started investigating the case. I was seven-years-old when I became a shareholder of Opel. We did not expect that NAB would investigate a child. Asifa Bhutto Zardari will become my voice if I am arrested. ”
In January last year, the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the removal of Bilawal’s and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah’s names from the Joint Investigation (JIT) report into the alleged Rs42 billion fake accounts scam.
Bilawal stressed that since the apex court had declared him innocent, NAB's investigation is "personal and political victimization by the PTI government".
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NAB is investigating the fake accounts cases against Bilawal’s father and PPP Co-Chairperson Asif Zardari, and aunt, Faryal Talpur, who also have the shares in the Zardari Group.
They both are among the key accused in a multi-billion rupee money laundering scandal earlier.
Earlier, condemning in strongest terms a call-up notice issued to the PPP chairman NAB, Pakistan’s superior bars on Wednesday urged the PTI government to shun political victimisation of its opponents and focus on public welfare.
Syed Qalb-e-Hassan, the president of Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan and Abid Saqi, the Pakistan Bar Council vice-chairman, in a joint statement, termed the NAB move as “act of personal victimisation, satisfying the political egoistic revenge of the incumbent government”.
They said the call-up notice is merely a reaction against the PPP chairman’s strong criticism of the government on the recent increase in prices of basic food items and the announcement made by him to launch a protest movement against the government’s economic policies. “It also shows the connivance between the sitting government and NAB, apparently so called state institution.”
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They further said that the actions being taken by the NAB allegedly on the will of sitting government “clearly shows that NAB is not acting independently and objectively”. Both the leaders stressed that the tactics being adopted by NAB, “in collaboration with the government”, is a strategy to suppress the democratic values in the country.
In December last year, Bilawal had slammed the PTI government for suppressing the political activities in the country by harassing the opposition but insisted that the party would not compromise on its principles.
Addressing a press conference, Bilawal accused the government of creating obstacles in his party’s plans to observe late Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary on December 27 in Rawalpindi, saying that the authorities had not yet issued permission for the event.
PTI govt to ensure gas supply to domestic consumers
Bilawal’s presser came hours after the arrest of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Secretary-General Ahsan Iqbal by NAB in the Narowal Sports City (NSC) Project case. Bilawal said: “NAB-Niazi nexus is exposed with the arrest of yet another opposition politician.”
The PPP chairman wondered how could the ministers of the “selected government” know about future moves of NAB. “What kind of accountability is this?” he asked, appealing to the judiciary to intervene and protect human rights of the opposition leaders.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari appeared before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) – after the third summon – to record his statement in the ongoing fake accounts and money laundering case.
Appearing before the accountability watchdog's Rawalpindi team, the PPP leader recorded his statement and spoke to the media outside NAB's office.
He claimed that he was not involved in any business activities and NAB is aware of the fact.
"Even If I was involved in private business practices, NAB does not have any jurisdiction to investigate a private business,” Bilawal said.
“I was not even a public office holder when NAB started investigating the case. I was seven-years-old when I became a shareholder of Opel. We did not expect that NAB would investigate a child. Asifa Bhutto Zardari will become my voice if I am arrested. ”
In January last year, the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the removal of Bilawal’s and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah’s names from the Joint Investigation (JIT) report into the alleged Rs42 billion fake accounts scam.
Bilawal stressed that since the apex court had declared him innocent, NAB's investigation is "personal and political victimization by the PTI government".
Govt, opposition in verbal slugfest over inflation
NAB is investigating the fake accounts cases against Bilawal’s father and PPP Co-Chairperson Asif Zardari, and aunt, Faryal Talpur, who also have the shares in the Zardari Group.
They both are among the key accused in a multi-billion rupee money laundering scandal earlier.
Earlier, condemning in strongest terms a call-up notice issued to the PPP chairman NAB, Pakistan’s superior bars on Wednesday urged the PTI government to shun political victimisation of its opponents and focus on public welfare.
Syed Qalb-e-Hassan, the president of Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan and Abid Saqi, the Pakistan Bar Council vice-chairman, in a joint statement, termed the NAB move as “act of personal victimisation, satisfying the political egoistic revenge of the incumbent government”.
They said the call-up notice is merely a reaction against the PPP chairman’s strong criticism of the government on the recent increase in prices of basic food items and the announcement made by him to launch a protest movement against the government’s economic policies. “It also shows the connivance between the sitting government and NAB, apparently so called state institution.”
PTI govt to ensure gas supply to domestic consumers
They further said that the actions being taken by the NAB allegedly on the will of sitting government “clearly shows that NAB is not acting independently and objectively”. Both the leaders stressed that the tactics being adopted by NAB, “in collaboration with the government”, is a strategy to suppress the democratic values in the country.
In December last year, Bilawal had slammed the PTI government for suppressing the political activities in the country by harassing the opposition but insisted that the party would not compromise on its principles.
Addressing a press conference, Bilawal accused the government of creating obstacles in his party’s plans to observe late Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary on December 27 in Rawalpindi, saying that the authorities had not yet issued permission for the event.
PTI govt to ensure gas supply to domestic consumers
Bilawal’s presser came hours after the arrest of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Secretary-General Ahsan Iqbal by NAB in the Narowal Sports City (NSC) Project case. Bilawal said: “NAB-Niazi nexus is exposed with the arrest of yet another opposition politician.”
The PPP chairman wondered how could the ministers of the “selected government” know about future moves of NAB. “What kind of accountability is this?” he asked, appealing to the judiciary to intervene and protect human rights of the opposition leaders.