Staff Reporter
Islamabad
In a hard-hitting press conference on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Babar Awan made it clear to Khawaja Asif that “no one is above the law.”
The foreign minister was holding the news conference with Adviser to Prime Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan. He was reacting to Khawaja Asif’s arrest in the assets beyond means case and the PML-N’s strong reaction against it.
“Khawaja Asif was invited many times to present himself to NAB and satisfy the bureau,” said FM Qureshi. “It seems as if Asif couldn’t answer NAB’s questions [related to assets beyond means].” The foreign minister said that since yesterday evening — when Asif was arrested — a storm has erupted and Opposition parties have been saying that NAB has been exacting revenge on political rivals of the government. “NAB is an independent institution and is not subservient to the government,” he said. “The laws according to which NAB operates were not introduced by the PTI,” added FM Qureshi. The foreign minister said that people should refrain from speaking about a PTI-NAB nexus since the accountability bureau was an independent body.
“Only Khawaja Asif can shed light on why he was arrested,” he said. “They say, ‘If you ask us questions, we will lay a siege around you,’” said FM Qureshi, hitting out at the PML-N.
‘Now we understand why Opposition wanted to amend NAB laws’
Continuing his tirade against the Opposition, FM Qureshi said every person was held accountable in respectable societies the world over. “Now we are understanding why they wanted to amend NAB laws,” he said. “They had told us [the government] that if NAB laws are relaxed then [Opposition] will hold talks with us,” added Qureshi.
He accused the Opposition of demanding an NRO from the government, adding that Khawaja Asif had been present in the FATF-related legislation meetings that took place between the government and Opposition. He urged Khawaja Asif and other Opposition leaders to reply to NAB’s accusations and expose them if they were indeed filthy. “But they don’t have answers to NAB’s questions,” he said. “Imran Khan brought forth a 40-year-old record and appeared before the court,” said Qureshi, adding that after weighing the evidence, the Supreme Court declared PM Imran Khan “Sadiq and Ameen’
