MULTAN: Veteran politician Javed Hashmi has predicted that Nawaz Sharif will be convicted in the National Accountability Bureau’s Flagship and Al-Azizia case as “the institutions won’t let these (cases) prove false”.

Talking to the media here on Saturday, senior politician said that the purpose of the NAB was to make politicians change their political loyalties.

“I will not accept this decision as Nawaz Sharif will be convicted at any cost,” he said.

About creation of south Punjab province, he said the plan was in its final stage and only a U-turn by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government could wind it up. However, he added that taking a U-turn on the issue won’t be easy for the government.

With regard to Shahbaz Sharif lending support to demand for south Punjab province, he said that he had already predicted it.

“All the political parties in the parliament have unanimously announced to support the move,” he added.

He said after becoming the head of the Public Accounts Committee, Shahbaz Sharif could now issue his own production orders for the National Assembly sessions.

Mr Hashmi regretted that Prime Minister Imran Khan was delivering speeches all over the world, but was absent from the National Assembly sessions.

“Imran Khan supports presidential system instead of the parliamentary one. He is not competent enough to answer any question in the assembly,” he said.

He deplored that the media was facing censorship and those (workers) who had made the media a profitable industry were being deprived of their jobs.

“Media workers are either being rendered jobless or their salaries are being cut. The number of people who struggle for independence of the media is decreasing,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2018