NAB’s double standards harm country: PM

Shehbaz says it did not conduct inquiries into multibillion-rupee projects

LAHORE:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday accused the National Accountability Bureau of maintaining double standards, saying that the anti-graft watchdog did not conduct inquiries into the projects in which billions of rupees of public money was wasted, but kept innocent people in its detention centres.

“Such practices cause harm to Pakistan. The rule of ‘might is right’ must be buried forever by the 220 million people of the country,” the PM said while addressing the groundbreaking ceremony of Bab-e-Pakistan as well as the expansion and infrastructure upgradation of Walton Road.

PM @CMShehbaz attending ground breaking ceremony of projects in Lahore@PakPMO https://t.co/JBOlMG2jbo

— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) February 11, 2023

PM Shehbaz said the country could not move ahead on the path of progress and prosperity unless they collectively stood up for what’s right.

“I wish no one goes to NAB’s akhuwat khana, not even my enemy. Innocent people are pushed against the wall.”

This project, he said, where billions of rupees had been misappropriated, did NAB look into the elements who were indulged in corruption?”

The prime minister opined that it would be a shame for a poor country like Pakistan, where the basic necessities of life like health and education were scant, to use costly imported tiles for the construction of the historic monument.

“With the import of tiles, what message will we send to the outer world,” he said, adding that he refused to allow the import of such material.

Subsequently, the contract was awarded to a person without the bidding process.

The prime minister added that with such a display of callousness, the country’s billions of rupees went to waste.

On the alleged graft in this project, the premier raised questions about NAB's performance that targeted innocent people but failed to summon those involved in such cases.

He said such cases also raised questions about the performance of NAB that targeted innocent people, but did not summon the people involved in such cases.

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The prime minister said that no doubt, they were passing through difficult times, but it was his firm conviction that with collective efforts, sacrifices and hard work, they would overcome these difficulties.

The prime minister said all segments of the society, including the elite class, would have to come forward and support the nation with generosity, adding that there was no other way to reach a destination except adherence to these qualities.

The prime minister said that they had once again gathered at the historic place for which millions of migrating Muslims from the subcontinent had offered historic sacrifices, and strived under the great leadership of Quaid-i-Azam for the creation of a separate homeland.

On their way to the newly created homeland, he said, they came across the worst kind of carnage, with thousands of children and women braving the onslaught.

Referring to Walton Road, the prime minister said it was the place where thousands of migrants from India took refuge and the locals supported them which renewed the precedent of Ansar-e-Madina.

“The unique precedent will always be remembered,” he added. Shehbaz observed that the Muslims migrated to a newly created country to get rid of the foreign rulers and with the desire to establish a society in which merit, justice and equality would prevail.

About construction of Bab-e-Pakistan, the prime minister said Nawaz Sharif laid its foundation stone in 1991 and then in 1997, when the PML-N came to power, work on the project was expedited.

He regretted that the project had hit snags in 2008 when its contract was awarded during the rule of late Pervez Musharraf. “About a billion rupees of the nation is buried in its ruins.” The contractor lacked experience and was a fraud as he wanted to import granite worth Rs900 million from Italy, he added.

About Bab-e-Pakistan, the prime minister said it should be a place from where the young generations and visitors could gain knowledge about the history of Pakistan.