THE process of accountability is stiffening around the top
leadership of PML (N) which is all set to further soar the political temperature in the days ahead. Thursday saw National Accountability Bureau (NAB) detaining PML (N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz in Chaudhry Sugar Mills case, a sugar mill owned by the Sharif family which triggered a strong reaction from the opposition parties both inside and outside the National Assembly. Her arrest in Lahore comes just a day after authorities took former Finance Minister Miftah Ismail into custody on graft charges.
The timing of the arrest of the outspoken Maryam Nawaz is very significant one as it has come at a time when the country is faced with the most serious challenge vis-à-vis the situation evolving in occupied Kashmir following revocation of its special status by India. A day earlier, the joint session of Parliament, showing complete unity, unanimously passed a resolution in solidarity with the Kashmiri people. Political stability indeed is need of the hour for Pakistan to effectively and vigorously plead the case of Kashmir at the world forums. Undoubtedly, the process of accountability must go on and that too without any discrimination and those who looted the national exchequer must be brought to justice as per the country’s law but this should be done without giving the impression of political victimization. NAB indeed deserves appreciation for the way it has achieved success in fake bank accounts case by recovering so far about 2.12 billion rupees by accepting the plea bargain of two accused persons. As regards Maryam Nawaz, she has been very cooperative and appeared before the accountability court many a times in connection with her other references. In sugar mills case also, she had appeared before NAB on July 31 to record her statement and had sought more time to submit a comprehensive reply, as indeed, this is quite an old case. In our view, it would have been better that she would not have been arrested during the investigation process and even if the arrest was imperative with the purpose to accelerate the probe, then she could be put under house arrest as was done with PPP leader Faryal Talpur. It is also for the opposition parties not to do politics on Kashmir dispute and refrain from issuing controversial statements.
