KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Wednesday criticised the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and called its ongoing campaign against opposition parties a ‘witch-hunt’, describing the anti-graft body as a tool of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government.

Party leaders, who met Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in the chair to discuss the political situation in the country, did not spare Prime Minister Imran Khan and his government, calling them “puppet rulers”.

Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, Syed Khursheed Shah, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Qamaruz Zaman Kaira, Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmood, Humayun Khan, Ali Maddad Jattak, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Waqar Mehdi and other PPP leaders attended the meeting.

Expresses concern over anti-encroachment drive being carried out by PTI government

“Leaders of the PPP have termed the witch-hunt against the PPP and other opposition leadership as a vicious victimisation where NAB has become a tool placed in the hands of puppet rulers,” said a statement issued after the meeting held at the Bilawal House.

“The PPP chairman endorsed the views of party leaders that the PTI government has unleashed a victimisation campaign brazenly targeting PPP and other opposition parties after a shameless dry-cleaning drive for inducting a puppet regime against the will of collective wisdom of the nation.

“The meeting noted that PTI government is in fact drumming up cosmetic and hollow projects as its poor and directionless policies and together with skyrocketing inflation leading the national economy to a disastrous nosedive.

“The meeting expressed deep concern over the ruthless anti-encroachment drive by the PTI government where poor segment of society has been specifically targeted without chalking out any compensation plan thus snatching the livelihood of hundreds of thousand Pakistanis. Instead of providing employment, the puppet regime is rendering thousands jobless,” said the statement.

Although the PPP has maintained a strong stand against NAB for pursuing cases against its leaders, the fresh meeting of the party assembling all its key leaders from across the country appears quite interesting just a day before the scheduled appearance of Mr Zardari and Mr Bhutto-Zardari before NAB in connection with the transfer of land to a real estate company.

Earlier this week, the Rawalpindi NAB had sent notices to the father and son asking them to appear before the bureau on Dec 13.

NAB claims that an inquiry was initiated against Park Lane Estate Company (Pvt) Ltd — a firm co-owned by Mr Zardari and Mr Bhutto-Zardari — and government officials for alleged illegal transfer of forest land. The bureau states that an inquiry was authorised into allegations that land belonging to the Punjab forest department was illegally transferred by Capital Development Authority officials to Park Lane Estate Company, a Karachi-based real estate firm.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2018