Just before his arrest by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ahsan Iqbal said that the incumbent government was attempting a "character assassination" of its political rivals through the accountability bureau.

Speaking to the media before appearing at the NAB office in Rawalpindi, Iqbal said the government was attempting to silence every voice that attempted to point out its own incompetence.

“Rs2.5 billion were spent on Narowal Sports City project, but then how are they saying that corruption of Rs6 billion was committed as alleged?” he said.

Iqbal, who was shot by a Tehreek-e-Labaik supporter during an election rally last year, said that his party would not shrink in the face of threats and coercion by the incumbent government.

Iqbal was arrested at the NAB office earlier today, relating to suspicions of corruption in a Sports City project in Narowal.

His arrest warrants had been signed by NAB Chairman Javed Iqbal. The bureau had been investigating the project since July 2018. Last month, the complex was visited by NAB in its attempt to secure all financial and documentary evidence related to its creation.