LAHORE: Rangers and police will be deployed at the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Thokar Niaz Beg building and its surroundings on Thursday (today), a day before PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz’s appearance in the probes into money laundering and illegal acquisition of land.

“Rangers and Punjab police will secure the NAB building and the outside area that has been declared a red zone on Thursday (today). No one else will be allowed to enter the red zone except Ms Nawaz on Friday (tomorrow) to record her statement in both inquiries,” an official told Dawn on Wednesday.

Following the PML-N’s decision to gather maximum party leaders and workers outside the NAB provincial headquarters on March 26, the bureau had sought “foolproof security” from the government asking it to deploy Rangers and police personnel.

Rangers, police to be deployed today

The NAB had said its provincial headquarters might “come under attack” from political workers and others on the occasion of Maryam Nawaz’s appearance before the bureau (on Friday). “To ensure foolproof security, NAB seeks help from law-enforcement agencies -- Rangers and police.”

On the bureau’s request, NAB headquarters and surroundings have also been declared a red zone.

The NAB had summoned Ms Nawaz in August last year, but clashes between PML-N workers and police broke out outside its Lahore headquarters upon her arrival to record a statement in the land case.

Meanwhile, PML-N Punjab president Rana Sanaullah said the NAB’s case against Maryam Nawaz was a political one.

“Maryam got a protective bail in the case so that she could continue to expose the PTI government and represent the people of Pakistan,” he said and added that Maryam had appeared in over 100 court proceedings. “Today ‘Satan of Rawalpindi’ is crying as the NAB-Niazi alliance’s plan to arrest Maryam on her appearance in NAB has been thwarted.”

All PML-N lawmakers in the national and Punjab assemblies have been directed by the party leadership to accompany Maryam Nawaz on her appearance before the NAB. The party’s Lahore chapter has also been asked to mobilise a maximum number of workers to make it a ‘big political power show’.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who is also the president of opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), has also announced that the workers of his party would reach NAB office on Friday.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2021