Maryam Nawaz targets Imran Khan's govt over Broadsheet scandal: Cowards cannot stand by truth

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Saturday took a dig at the Imran Khan-led government over the appointment of Justice Azmat Saeed as the head of the Broadsheet Inquiry Commission, arguing that 'cowards' cannot take a stand on the truth, reported The News International.

In a tweet on Saturday, Maryam Nawaz said it is easier to hurl allegations against public representatives, but a time comes for accountability.

"It is not the job of cowards to take a stand on truth and to endure suffering and persecution for it and still persevere. It is easy to make accusations and slander public representatives, but it is also a day of reckoning. Nature has its own ways of unmasking the conspirators (roughly translated from Urdu)," she tweeted.

In a statement, Maryam said: "Justice Azmat Saeed was part of the NAB during the tenure that will be investigated by the commission. There is a glaring and undeniable conflict of interest. How can he be called impartial in this case?"

Despite criticism from the opposition parties, the Imran-led government on Saturday appointed former Supreme Court judge Azmat Saeed Shaikh as the head of the inquiry commission to investigate the Broadsheet scandal.

The opposition has criticised the government's move to appoint Shaikh as he had earlier served as deputy prosecutor general of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

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. The NAB signed an agreement with the Broadsheet but terminated it in 2003.

The scandal proved that Pakistan has been plagued by corruption. Instead of targeting the corrupt, the Broadsheet was used for political gains and safe passage was given to the corrupt people to escape accountability through National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

Meanwhile, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb remarked that the NAB is not serious in arresting and punishing the accused in the state.

"Azmat Saeed's appointment is a brutal murder of the Constitution, law, transparency and justice. The commission is an attempt to save those who asked for commissions and cuts," she added.

She also mentioned that it is important to know why the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government is bent upon appointing only Justice Azmat Saeed, whereas the main focus and stress should be an impartial inquiry. This, she said, proves the mala fide intent of the selected government, reported The News International.

(ANI)

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