ON Aug 11, Maryam Nawaz was called by NAB in connection with her alleged acquisition of large swathes of land by sheer manipulation. Instead of appearing in NAB as an accused person to clarify her position, she came rather to ‘fix’ NAB in a procession. She came with her top party leaders and workers with fanfare.

Nevertheless, these party workers on explicit orders of the party high command came with truckloads of stones. After reaching the NAB office, Maryam unleashed her goons on the police. They not only pelted the policemen with stones, but also ransacked the barriers erected for NAB office safety.

It was a preplanned move to storm the NAB office to frighten and intimidate the NAB officials. The PML-N’s street power was demonstrated in an overly aggressive, combative and belligerent manner.

Many policemen got injured in the ensuing tussle. As the PML-hired goons looked ominous and continued pelting stones, police arrested quite a few of them.

Maryam, however, succeeded in stopping NAB Lahore from conducting the proceedings of the day. It was hooliganism, vandalism, disruptive and unlawful behaviour of the worst kind, culminating into wholesale rioting.

She stood at a distance and continued to taunt NAB by saying she had come but NAB officials were hiding like cowards. Her husband Safdar said ‘the tigress’ had come. This maddening behaviour deserves strongest possible condemnation.

There is a timeless adage which reads ‘what is bred in the bone cannot go out’. Maryam only followed in the footprints of her discredited father, Nawaz Sharif, who is technically a fugitive.

She was groomed and trained by her father. It may be recalled that in 1997 Nawaz Sharif, prime minister at that time, harshly criticised the chief justice during the proceedings and was found in contempt. Unruly party workers stormed into the Supreme Court, forcing Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah to remove the finding of contempt against Sharif.

I want to now ask the Punjab chief minister a few questions: Did not he know that Maryam was coming to the NAB office fully prepared to challenge the writ of the government with truckloads of stones and batons?

If he knew it, why did he soft-paddle a potentially explosive issue? Why did not he stop Maryam’s procession miles away from the NAB office? Why did not he ensure that only Maryam’s vehicle passed through the checkpoint if he had cared to establish one? Didn’t he visualise that the situation could spiral out of control if he showed slackness?

Do not Punjab chief secretary, IG of police and intelligence apparatus owe allegiance to him? Why did he not take pro-active action?

Now Maryam and the top leadership of the PML-N should be taken to task under the law for inciting their party workers to create a law and order situation and for obstructing NAB to carry out its lawful official duty and for destroying public property.

A. Siddiqui
Karachi

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2020