Former PM Shahid Abbasi says Pakistan must abolish NAB

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 23 : Former prime minister and senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday said that the sooner Pakistan decides to do away with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the better, reported Geo News.
Referring to the Broadsheet LLC scandal and criticising the country's accountability watchdog for the "corruption therein" Abbasi said that the sooner the state decides to abolish the bureau, the better it would be for the country.
Abbasi who is also the General-Secretary of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an 11-party alliance of Pakistan that had led demonstrations across Pakistan against the Imran-led government on the charges of corruption termed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government "the most corrupt government in power at present".
"Many other people are going to be exposed in the Broadsheet scandal," he said.
The Broadsheet LLC case details the entire saga from the NAB's establishment to the signing and -- three years later -- rescinding the agreement with Broadsheet, a breach of contract, illegal payments from Pakistan to wrong entities; and all that led the court to ascertain that the anti-corruption body was involved in intentional wrongdoings, reported The News International.
The Broadsheet LLC, based in the Isle of Man, was hired by the NAB during Musharraf's regime to trace out hidden assets of Pakistanis in foreign countries. NAB signed an agreement with the Broadsheet but terminated it in 2003, reported The Express Tribune.
Regarding the appointment of former Supreme Court judge Azmat Saeed to head the Broadsheet Inquiry, Abbasi said that he "requests Azmat Saeed not to head the inquiry because he himself was part of NAB."
"Don't be a part of the deal which puts the country's honour at stake," he said.
Justice (retd) Azmat Saeed was employed as the deputy prosecutor general of NAB in the year 2000 for a period of one year. He was appointed special prosecutor of NAB in 2001 to pursue cases before the accountability courts at Attock Fort and Rawalpindi, reported Geo News.
Abbasi further said that the Broadsheet scandal is not about probing corruption worth a few million rupees but it is the "story of destroying politics in the country."
He also urged the PTI government to make the Broadsheet LLC inquiry transparent and share its findings with the public.
The accountability watchdog (NAB) has been mired in controversy over violation of human rights, character assassination and arresting people at the inquiry stage to weaken the opposition's anti-government movement.