-Terms Asif’s arrest as ‘kidnapping’
-Says govt is loaded with distress, taking desperate measures
-Claims NAB is a tool used for political engineering
By Ajmal Khan Yousafzai
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz threatened the government of befitting the response for ‘kidnapping’ party lawmaker Khawaja Asif earlier Tuesday if he is not released shortly.
Maryam Nawaz was talking to media following Asif’s arrest made by NAB in ‘assets beyond means’ case over which the watchdog said earlier he could not convince the investigation committee on how he possessed wealth beyond his income.
Government is visibly fraught with distress over Pakistan Democratic Movement, said Maryam, adding that now it is going for desperate measures. Asif’s arrest goes on to show how anxious the government has become as it reckoned the power of PDM, said Maryam Nawaz. Asif has told NAB to do whatever it could do as he and the party are ready for whatever the consequences may be, she said.
Even the courts have often acknowledged and admitted that NAB has become a tool of political engineering in Pakistan, she said, and claimed that Prime Minister Imran Khan is using the accountability bureau for political vengeance. She said Asif is not arrested but is kidnapped and that NAB detained him without any case on the behest of Imran Khan. It may be noted that earlier today PML-N’s Asif was detained by NAB for allegedly having inordinate wealth compared to the sources of income. NAB has confirmed the development of arresting Khawaja Asif earlier today in the case of assets beyond means case.
Moreover, PML-N senior leader and former foreign minister Khawaja Asif has been arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Islamabad, a spokesperson for the bureau confirmed on Tuesday. “NAB Lahore has arrested Khawaja Muhammad Asif in assets beyond known sources of income case,” the official said.
According to the bureau’s spokesperson, the PML-N leader had earlier been summoned for an inquiry but he failed to provide the required evidence. The spokesperson said Asif held an iqama (work permit) from 2004 to 2008, adding that he earned a total of Rs136 million for his services as a consultant legal adviser.
The PML-N leader was directed to submit details of the salary he received and other information. He was also asked to provide the job application he had submitted to a foreign company as well as his iqama agreement.
“Khawaja Asif continuously failed to cooperate during the inquiry,” the spokesperson said, adding that he was arrested with the approval of the NAB chairman. The official said Asif would be presented before an accountability court on Wednesday to obtain his remand. Reacting to the development, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif in a tweet condemned the arrest, terming it a part of “the nexus of the selectors and the selected”.
His daughter and PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz denounced the arrest, saying he had been “kidnapped by NAB”. She said Asif was leaving for a TV interview after attending a party meeting when he was arrested by NAB.
Maryam claimed that “someone” had called Asif and asked him to stop supporting Nawaz Sharif’s narrative. When he refused, Asif was told to “be prepared for the consequences”.
Maryam said the opposition’s Pakistan Democratic Movement will react to the arrest, and “the reaction will be such that you will have to release Khawaja Asif.”
She said the nation was looking towards the judiciary and that it “should not stay silent” on the matter. PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, during a presser late on Tuesday, also condemned the arrest. “It is against the stability of Pakistan,” he said.
Earlier this year, NAB and the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) had initiated action against the close confidant of former premier Nawaz Sharif on the allegation of illegally establishing a housing project in his hometown Sialkot.
According to NAB, evidence shows Asif established the Kent Housing Society, which has been operating illegally. In November, NAB had sought records from him regarding sources and local amount of funds invested in the project by him, his family members (wife and son) and other partners/close relatives. NAB says the former foreign minister had in collusion with the management of the society illegally occupied various pieces of land owned by individuals who never sold their land to the society.
