LAHORE: The Pakistan Peoples Party will ask the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to apprise the Senate about the progress in its investigation into more than 150 corruption cases.

“The party will raise the matter in the ongoing session of Senate. We want to know from NAB under whose direction it is not laying hands on the ruling PML-N men in Punjab,” Senator Saeed Ghani told Dawn on Saturday.

“Last year, NAB submitted to the Supreme Court a list containing details of 169 mega corruption cases. The list includes the cases against high-profile people, including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, ministers and senior bureaucrats. A year has passed but we do not know what has happened to these cases. What NAB has found or, like in the case of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, closed the investigation without informing the SC,” the PPP legislator said.

He said it seemed NAB had directions from the PML-N bosses not to go after the cases involving the party’s representatives. “Punjab minister Rana Mashhood’s name was not placed on the exit control list (ECL) despite his alleged involvement in corruption and subsequent investigation by NAB. But in the case of Sindh minister Sharjeel Memon nothing was proved against him and yet his name was put on the ECL. The discrimination of NAB is evident from this case,” he added.

The senator claimed that if Model Town Lahore tragedy had occurred in Sindh, its chief minister, home minister and IGP would have been languishing in prison today “but the sultans of Raiwind are living with impunity”.

Saeed Ghani said: “Everyone is aware of corruption in mega-projects in Punjab but NAB is afraid to take action against sultans of Raiwind. Leader of the Chotu gang was arrested but no one knows where he is and what actions are being taken against him. Besides, the father of a minister [Abid Sher Ali] had accused Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah of multiple murders but no investigation or action has been initiated.”

Mr Ghani urged the SC to take suo motu notice of these cases so that no one, however influential he may be, could get away with the corruption he had committed.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2016