LAHORE: PPP co-chairperson Asif Zardari and other opposition leaders have criticised Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif for ‘intimidating’ the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for probing a corruption case against him.

Mr Zardari said the Sharifs had begun crying on the issue of notices by the NAB to them even before the start of their accountability.

He was speaking at a meeting held here on Monday to review matters regarding the party’s public meeting at Mochi Gate ground scheduled for Feb 5.

“They must remember that we faced revenge in the name of accountability for many decades. We faced NAB as well as the Ehtesabur Rehman of Nawaz Sharif,” he was quoted as saying at the meeting.

“The Sharifs have neither been handcuffed nor their nails removed from their fingers,” he said, referring to the torture he suffered during his 12 years or so incarceration.

The PPP leader said the Sharifs were crying for their alleged world network of corruption was about to be exposed.

Those who attended the meeting included party general secretary Nayyar Bukhari, former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Manzoor Wattoo, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Chaudhry Manzoor and Faisel Saleh Hayat.

Also, PML-Q MPA Moonis Elahi said the Sharif brothers were happy to see accountability of their opponents but when they themselves were being called for their corruption cases, they started calling it revenge.

On Shahbaz’s appearance before a NAB investigation team, he said instead of clearing his position before NAB in the corruption in Ashiyana Housing Scheme he was threatening the bureau.

He said the self-styled Khadim-i-Ala’s role had been in question in award of illegal construction contract of Ashiyana-i-Iqbal to M/S Lahore Casa Developers, a proxy company of Railways Minister Khwaja Saad Rafique after ordering cancellation of contract to the successful bidder M/S Ch. Latif & Sons that resulted into a cumulative loss of Rs905 million to the exchequer.

He said the NAB was also probing the award of the consultancy services of Ashiyana-i-Iqbal project to M/S Engineering Consultancy Services for Rs192 million whereas actual cost as quoted by Nespak was only Rs35 million.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Central Punjab president Abdul Aleem Khan said Sharif’s “repeat” announcement to recover looted money from Asif Zardari was nothing less than a joke.

He said Mr Sharif had looked confused on his first appearance before NAB. He said Mr Sharif would soon be required to explain the killing of 14 innocent people in Model Town and would eventually land in jail.

After being quizzed for about 90 minutes, he said, the chief minister continued giving his clarifications to the media for quite a long time. He said the Sharif family was known for attacking the judiciary and then escaping after entering into exile agreements.

Mr Khan said Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi should serve as state’s executive head and avoid meeting the accused, disqualified by the Supreme Court.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2018