Under newly-amended NAB laws, accountability courts have started sending back corruption references to anti-graft watchdog as they do not fall under NAB purview.

ISLAMABAD   -  Former interior minister and head of Awami Muslim League, Sheikh Rashid Ah­mad has hoped that the Su­preme Court will restore all the corruption references against the rulers after the annulment of amendments made to the NAB laws.

Under the newly-amended NAB laws, the accountability courts have started sending back corruption references to the anti-graft watchdog as they didn’t fall under NAB purview. The accountability courts have recently sent back several references, including the one against Prime Min­ister Shahbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shahbaz (Ram­zan Sugar Mills) and former premiers Yousaf Raza Gilani (USF) and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf (rental power projects), to the NAB chairman, citing the amended legislation. 

Rashid also announced to go to the high court to challenge the appointment of 70 minis­ters which he said, is against the constitution. The former minister’s comments come as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led coalition govern­ment’s federal cabinet swelled to 70 members after Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif ap­pointed eight more special as­sistants for himself, apparently in an attempt to keep the allies in good humour at state’s ex­pense. With the eight new spe­cial assistants to the premier, the cabinet now consists of 34 federal ministers, including one without portfolio, seven ministers of state, four advis­ers to the PM and 25 SAPMs.

In a series of tweets on Sun­day, Sheikh Rashid wrote, “God willing, the Supreme Court will restore the 150 corrup­tion references against the rulers. The NAB amendments will be declared null and void and 10 million overseas Paki­stanis will get the right to vote. The number of 70 ministers is against the constitution. I will go to the High Court against it. The economic crisis has be­come very serious”. He further said that the PDM has drowned the nation in the sea of infla­tion adding all records of in­flation have been broken. For the last three days, the govern­ment has not been allowed to decrease POL prices owing to pressure being exerted by the petrol mafia, he said further. “Reconciliation or resistance is going to be decided. Ministers cannot go to their constituen­cies. Bilawal comes to Pakistan as a guest actor and does not go to office,” he said on social media. Rashid further said that twenty-one ministers are without any portfolio.