Country to remain paralyzed until NAB exists: Shahid Khaqan

Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said that the country will remain paralyzed till the NAB exists, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

Talking to media Shahid Khaqan in his scathing criticism over the government said that the government had promised to dissolve the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) first, instead after coming into power they have strengthened it with an ordinance.

“Javed Iqbal (former NAB chief), was saying that the PTI’s founder has been behind the NAB cases, while the PTI founder’s partymen are saying Qamar Bajwa was registering cases,” former prime minister said. “What was the crime of those thousands who were jailed,” he questioned.

Former PML-N leader said, “This is the first country which has imposed tax on the tax money you are paying”. “They have imposed taxes to the extent that it will be difficult to export,” Abbasi said.

“They have allocated 5,000 billion rupees for the MNAs and MPAs. The government has overburdened the people with 4,000 billion rupees in budget, while it increased its expenditures by 25 percent,” former PM said.

He said, petrol, diesel, LPG and cigarettes being smuggled and no one preventing this smuggling. “Illegal cigarettes are being made and everyone knows who is behind it but there is no one who prevent it,” he lamented.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Misftah Islamil, who have recently announced their own party, yesterday criticised the federal budget for lacking reforms and burdening the salaried class.

At a news conference, they demanded the government to cut its expenses, stop smuggling, and increase exports by incentivising industrialists.

They also urged the government to review the budget and roll back measures like increasing taxes on the salaried class and allocating Rs500 billion to MNAs for development schemes in their constituencies.