PML-N lawmakers slam govt for allowing Shehbaz's arrest without NA speaker's approval

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmakers on Friday heavily criticised the government for what they termed “arresting opponents to set political scores” by allowing Shehbaz Sharif’s arrest without the approval of National Assembly’s speaker, ARY News reported.

According a joint statement released by the party’s lawmakers, the party objected upon Shehbaz Sharif’s arrest by terming it against parliamentary norms.

“How can you allow the opposition leader’s arrest without getting approval from the National Assembly’s speaker?,” the PML-N leaders questioned.

The PML-N legislators warned government against using NAB against political opponents by saying that the “history is testament to the fact that using the anti-graft authority for settling political scores has never benefited anyone”.

The party’s lawmakers lamented that China and Turkey’s leaders have lauded Shehbaz’s performance as chief minister but the government instead arrested the true “servant of the people”.

Earlier in the day,  National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif in the Rs14 billion Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme case.

The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly has been accused of corruption in the Ashiana Housing case.

He will be produced before an accountability court for remand tomorrow. He will be kept in a highly-secured lock-up inside the NAB Lahore office until his appearance in court.