ISLAMABAD - As the Supreme Court on Friday turned down the petition of PTI chief Imran Khan against the appointment of incumbent chairman NAB, Khan regretting the apex court decision has said that his party was stuck to its earlier stance that this was a clear case of 'underhand deal' between the government and PPP.
A statement issued from the PTI Central Secretariat on Friday said that Imran regretted the SC decision on his petition against the appointment of present NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry.
Khan said that while he and his party respected the apex court decision, they maintained their position that this appointment was a clear case of 'muk muka' (underhand deal) between the government and PPP. This is crystal clear from the fact that PPP lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan in its arguments against the petitioner's case aided the government side, he said.
The PTI chief felt that given the way democracy is proceeding with the shadow of corruption, nepotism and 'muk muka', the people of Pakistan will not see change for the better and will keep yearning for accountability of the leadership.
The Chairman PTI asserted that both PML-N and PPP need to maintain politics of 'muk muka' especially on the issue of accountability since both had glaring corruption cases against them, which the NAB chief would now bring to closure.
Imran listed the facts proving PML-N-PPP muk muka. He said firstly the prosecutors pursuing the cases involving Asif Zardari remain those who were appointed by the previous regime and who proved to be "friendly prosecutors" for the other influentials who were co-accused in these cases, because they get acquitted these co-accused in a highly controversial manner in 2011. This was reported in the media at the time leading to the CJ taking note and forwarding the issue to the LHC. After determining the veracity of the news stories the LHC ordered an inquiry, which is still ongoing, against the concerned accountability judges. Yet the concerned NAB prosecutor, Chaudhry Riaz has not laid this crucial fact before the Accountability Court Rawalpindi.
"Secondly, with the appointment of the present NAB chairman it is expected the Accountability Court Rawalpindi, which has not been apprised by NAB of the inquiry into the controversial manner of earlier acquittals of the co-accused, will conclude the hearing into the SGS and Cotecna references against Zardari in weeks," the statement said.
Thirdly, the same NAB prosecutor is also presenting a proclaimed offender in the ARY case, Javed Talat, as a prosecution witness in the SGS and Cotecna cases to give the influential accused a major advantage, he said.
Imran Khan said it was clear that NAB was going quickly through the motions to dismiss all cases against the PPP and PML-N leaders and the pace had been quickened after the appointment of the incumbent NAB chairman.
Khan concluded that the whole politics of 'muk muka' is also why the pre-election statements and promises made by Shahbaz Sharif about bringing back Zardari's looted wealth have been long forgotten. "This is shameful and a travesty of justice with the victims being the poor people of Pakistan," Khan concluded.