Sharjeel Memon decries NAB's 'biased' attitude towards him

KARACHI: Former Sindh Information Minister and PPP MPA Sharjeel Memon on Wednesday decried National Accountability Bureau (NAB)’s attitude towards him.

Speaking on the floor of the provincial assembly, Memon said that his name was put on Exit Control List (ECL) while he was abroad.

He said he had taken a bail from Islamabad High Court before returning to Pakistan in March this year when he was taken into custody soon after his plane landed.

Deploring his arrest upon his arrival at Islamabad airport, the PPP lawmaker complained of NAB’s biased attitude towards him and his party.

He said that the NAB officials were denied an entry at Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA) on arrival of Capt (Retd) Muhammad Safdar, implying that Safdar was exempted to undergo such treatment.

The former PM Sharif’s son-in-law was taken into custody then but his arrest was not publicly announced, he claimed.

He said Sharif family members including Ishaq Dar are facing corruption cases, as what he said, more serious and bigger in nature but none of their names were placed on ECL.

“I request NAB Chairman to inform me about the criteria of putting anyone’s name on ECL,” Memon remarked while denouncing the anti-corruption watchdog’s dual standard.

Moreover, Memon said that NAB officials arrested him from the court premises and the entire media witnessed it but the NAB prosecution in court maintained that he was detained from Shahra-e-Iraq near Passport Office.

Earlier today, the former Sindh Information Minister arrived at Sindh Assembly under police custody to attend a session.

The imprisoned PPP leader received a warm welcome at the entrance of the provincial assembly after the PPP activists showered flower petals on him while chanting pro-PPP slogans.

On Oct 23 (last week), Memon was arrested by a NAB team hours after the Sindh High Court rejected his request to confirm his interim bail in a corruption reference.

The NAB team along with Rangers arrested the former minister from outside the court and moved him to NAB’s Sindh office.

Sharjeel Memon, flanked by his supporters and lawyers, took at least five hours to come out of the court premises as his lawyers advised him to surrender to the NAB team.