ISLAMABAD: Reacting to remarks made by Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah calling Pakistan Peoples Party leader Sharjeel Memon’s arrest unjust, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal on Thursday said the arrest was made on the court’s orders.

The newly-appointed chief of the anti-graft watchdog said: “It is a wrong impression that injustice was done in the arrest of Mr Memon as we are only obeying the orders of the court.”

On Wednesday, the opposition leader said that NAB had earned a bad name because of the treatment meted out to Mr Memon and the way he was arrested and that the NAB chairman should take serious notice of it.

Justice Iqbal pointed out that a reference against Mr Memon was being heard by a relevant accountability court and the arrest warrant was also issued by the court. “NAB just facilitated the court in implementation of its order,” he said.

Justice Iqbal vowed that NAB would not make any discrimination against anybody and would ensure across-the-board accountability on the basis of justice, which would be carried out according to law.

Mr Memon, a former information minister in the Sindh government, was arrested on Monday for his alleged involvement in over Rs5 billion corruption in his ministry.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2017