Turncoats, hypocrites, people who sell their loyalties don’t make nations: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

LAHORE, Nov 21 (SABAH): Former prime minister and Senior Vice President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is not accountability, NAB is whatever political engineering, it is manipulating politics, it is punishing people without convicting them, whatever you want to call it, adding that if you want accountability of politicians, it is very simple, the whole world does it, we do not need special laws, it is about the tax laws, the people who apply taxes on the people of Pakistan should answer for their own assets, they should answer for their own lifestyle, what are the earnings, if they are earning then they should pay taxes, if members of the parliament walk out to the parliament on three or six crore rupees vehicle and go to a 15 crore rupees home and monthly electric bill is Rs 2 lakh, but pay no taxes, what that tell you, that is a corrupt politician, let start with the president of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan and leader of the opposition, ask them this basic question that how do you justify your lifestyle, where are the taxes. He said that the tax laws should be used for disqualifying somebody under Articles 62 and 63.

While addressing the third-two day Asima Jillani conference in Lahore on Sunday, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that if NAB accuses me then it should install the cameras in investigation room and courtroom and show the people of Pakistan and people of my constituency if have been corrupt, accuse me in front of them. Abbasi said that we still stand defied because we believe what we do, we believe that without political leadership this country will not move forward. He said that the turncoats, hypocrites, people who sell their loyalties don’t make nations and NAB is a tool to convert the people into turncoats and to sell their souls and that is the reality of NAB.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that I stood in the accountability courts for 12 years and spent three years in NAB jail, adding that I do not regret whatever I said or did. He said that two basic questions remain what is the purpose of accountability? And what does the accountability has delivered to the country? He said that the purpose is very clear that the laws made are not applied on the people who have created these laws. He said that the people who apply these laws, the laws do not applies to them and that is the reality of the NAB today. He said that the NAB did not apply to judiciary, NAB does not apply to the military, NAB does not apply to the business community and the NAB is not applied to the bureaucracy. What is NAB applied to, the politicians, who are declared corrupt in the media, who are tried in the media.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that this is 21st year of the establishment of NAB and only one politician of prominence Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has been convicted in NAB courts, let the chairman NAB come and say how much money has been recovered from the politicians. He said that look at the cases Nawaz Sharif has been convicted in. He said that only politician of prominence in this country has been convicted by NAB in 21 years. He said that the NAB law says I declare you guilty, now prove your innocence, that is what NAB is about, I declare you a money launderer, now declare you are not a money launderer.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that the law requires me to maintain the financial record of seven years but NAB is trying me for 35 years. He said that the NAB is about victimization, the entity paying the price for NAB today is Pakistan.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that how can NAB apply to a person who does never had any control over the public money, adding that NAB law can only be amended by consensus.