PML-N leaders Khawaja Saad Rafique and Khawaja Salman Rafique on Saturday submitted an application with National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman retired justice Javed Iqbal and sought transfer of the ongoing investigations against them, DawnNewsTV reported.

The Khawaja brothers wrote a letter to the NAB chairman, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, and expressed their distrust in the accountability watchdog and its Lahore DG Shahzad Saleem, and blamed the official of doing character assassination and running a malicious media trial against them.

In their plea, the Khawaja brothers have mentioned that on November 8, the NAB DG "in complete disregard to the standard norms of the investigation process, participated in various talk shows".

"He [DG NAB] went on to make partisan, partial and prejudicial statements pertaining to the investigations since pending and insisted upon his predisposed and jaundiced opinion [the applicants are guilty]," the application read.

"The DG did not have the authority to make above sweeping remarks at this juncture when the matter is still pending and particularly he is investing the same," they added.

They claimed that they were facing maliciously motivated inquiries and mentioned that no credible evidence could be collected against the applicants to attract the mischief of any offence under the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999. "The investigation teams were bent upon to make out a case against the applicants by any means whatsoever," the applicants claimed.

According to the application, the two believe that they would not get a fair investigation from the team working under the incumbent DG, "who has become an inimical instrument in the hands of political rivals of the applicants".

"It is requested that the inquiries/investigations pending at [NAB's] Lahore [office,] may kindly be transferred to some other region to be conducted and concluded by an independent, impartial and honest investigator," read the application.