Bury the hatchet for progress, advises Rafique to leaders

PML-N leader says only democracy can prevail in long run

Amid the government-opposition tussle, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Saad Rafique on Saturday said called upon the state institutions to ensure that all enmities were buried for country’s progress.

“The legal system should not be in shackles and ought to be free to dispense justice,” he said while addressing a ceremony.

Rafique, the former railway minister, said: “We will reach our goals by sticking to our stance. Everyone (party) should have a new charter of democracy and the charter of the economy.”

The PML-N leader expressed his fear that the country would see an increase in hatred and enmities if leaders continue to “pursue vendettas” against each other. “The business of accountability should stop and justice should take precedence,” he said.

He slammed the idea of nepotism in politics, saying that only politicians could run the country and no system other than a democracy could prevail in the long run.

To what many opposition leaders called as political victimisation, in December 2018, the National Accountability Bureau had arrested Saad Rafique and his brother, Salman Rafique, after the Lahore High Court (LHC) rejected their request for an extension in their pre-arrest bail in a case pertaining to the housing society scam.

The NAB accused the Khawaja brothers of establishing a housing project by acting as benamidars in the name of Air Avenue. The project was later converted into a new housing scheme, namely Paragon City, which, as per the NAB, was illegal and not approved by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA). The bureau also accused the two brothers of receiving monetary benefits worth Rs58 million and Rs39 million, respectively from the housing society through proxy firms under the garb of consultancy services.

The Supreme Court, in March, approved the bail applications of Khwaja brothers while castigating NAB over procedural irregularities and lack of due process.