PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said it’s time to dissolve the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and hold its employees accountable.
Talking to the media on Tuesday, he said NAB’s employees have looted and tortured people for years. Abbasi accused the bureau chairman of “being fully under control” of the former Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying he used to take instructions from the previous government.”
Earlier this week, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif was elected as the 23rd prime minister of Pakistan following Imran Khan’s ouster after a successful no-confidence movement. PM Khan blamed the US for conspiring against him and gave a letter as evidence.
When Khan was being ousted from power, he claimed that the joint opposition wanted to de-fang the watchdog to protect their “looted wealth.” He said they want to get away with the corruption investigations underway against them.
Read more: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi says NAB to be disbanded once their govt is formed
When he came to power in 2018, Imran Khan had claimed that the accountability bureau would unveil Shehbaz and Nawaz Sharif’s corruption to the public and punish them for looting the public’s money. Several PML-N and PPP leaders have faced cases lodged by the corruption watchdog for the past three years.
Meanwhile, then-opposition parties PPP and PML-N repeatedly accused the Imran-led PTI government and the corruption watchdog of a biased, one-sided, and politically motivated witch-hunt to target opposition members.
Abbasi also claimed that a minister in Imran Khan’s office used to issue orders to the NAB chief regarding lodging fake cases, arresting people, and defaming them. “This is your NAB chairman who stayed quiet on Imran Khan’s corruption,” the PML-N leader added.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said that the new govt should dissolve NAB and hold its staff accountable for their past misdeed – NAB's staff looted & tortured people for years. It's time they should be held accountable – he said it was "being fully controlled" by IK when he was PM
— omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) April 12, 2022
Shahid Khaqan’s stance on NAB
He said the NAB couldn’t prove a single reference or inquiry against PML-N leaders in the last four years. “Why didn’t they investigate people who were involved in corruption worth billions of rupees and were sitting in the federal cabinet?” Abbasi demanded.
He said, “We are not taking revenge from anyone. We just want to expose the reality of NAB in front of the public. Accountability exists in the country, but go to NAB if you want to indulge in corruption,” Abbasi said.
He also revealed that the government would move courts to install cameras inside NAB courts so that the “public knows who is involved in corruption.”
“We won’t arrest anyone. Weak people like the NAB chairman will be the first person to arrested Imran Khan’s people. But this is not our way,” Abbasi pointed out, adding that the PML-N had always maintained its honour and respect in politics.
Read more: NAB solves 66 mega corruption cases, recovers Rs 539 billion
He reiterated that whatever happened in the last four years would be kept in front of the public.
Then too, PPP and PML-N had termed the ordinance “political vendetta” and “an attempt to usurp the judiciary’s powers and bring NAB under the direct control of the prime minister.”