Accountability process needs to be transparent: Fawad Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday lashed out at opposition politicians for raising a hue and cry over National Accountability Bureau (NAB) actions, saying some people thought that they have got a licence to indulge in corrupt practices by becoming a parliamentarian.

Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, he said the people wanted to hold those who pocketed public money to account.

He said the process of accountability needs to be fair, adding that the previous Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) government had installed the incumbent chairman of the NAB.

The minister said former railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique had approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) for bail and that he was arrested when it rejected his bail plea.

Slamming the PML-N, he said how it ruled the country over the past five years was evident to everyone.

“The current NAB law was promulgated when you [opposition members] were in power. Why didn’t you remove flaws in the law when you were in office,” he asked.

He said those involved in money laundering were appointed to key posts. A case in point is the appointment of a chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), he added.

Mr Chaudhry said those who owned a bicycle in the past now had towers and cars, adding that when they are questioned where did they get the money to buy this property from  the sanctity of the Parliament is breached.

He said they didn’t care about Shehbaz Sharif or Khawaja Saad Rafique, but they feared their turn to face accountability.