by MANSOOR ALI in the Nation, dec 21, 2020
ISLAMABAD – Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief and head of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Maulana Fazlur Rehman has decided not to appear before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigation team if any notice was served on him.
A close aide of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, on the condition of anonymity, told The Nation here on Sunday that the JUI-F chief would never appear before the NAB’s team as his hands were clean.
Sources emphatically stated that from the very start, the stance of Maulana Fazlur Rehman and JUI-F on NAB was loud and clear, and that was the Bureau was being used by the government to ‘pressurize and intimidate’ the opposition leaders and thus continue the process of ‘selective accountability’ across the country.
The sources further informed The Nation that there was no change in JUI-F’s stance on the Senate elections and en-masse resignations as the party’s parliamentarians had already submitted their resignations to their leadership.
Meanwhile, Maulana Amjad Khan, a senior leader of JUI-F, in his comments on reports of NAB’s notice issued to Maulana Fazlur Rehman, said the JUI-F chief had not received the notice as yet, adding even if he received any such notice he would never appear before the Bureau’s investigation team.
He opined that the incumbent government was using NAB as a tool to victimize its opponents, adding it clearly showed the desperation of the government.
It is worth mentioning here that the NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has already arrested a close aide of Maulana Fazl Rehman, former forest officer Musa Khan, in assets beyond known means of income case.
A couple of weeks ago, the NAB had summoned Gul Asghar hailing from Dera Ismail Khan. He was also issued a call-up notice earlier, but he failed to appear before the NAB team.
The anti-graft watchdog had said in September that an inquiry against Maulana Fazlur Rahman was being conducted by its KP office.
Earlier, the watchdog had also summoned Akram Khan Durrani, senior JUI-F leader and former chief minister KP in several cases, including in the case of allegedly making illegal appointments when he was Federal Minster for Housing in Nawaz Sharif’s era.
Meanwhile, JUI-F Central Secretary General Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri has said that the government can never stop the party and other parties united on the platform of PDM from protesting against its ‘flawed’ policies.
He further said that the JUI-F chief and other party men were not afraid of NAB notices at all, and would never be on the back foot in fight against the government and its policies.
It is important to mention here that NAB KP, in its recent notices, has summoned the associates of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, including Abrar Ahmed and Abdur Rauf.
Three others, who were summoned by the NAB, are Abrar Ali Shah, Jalal Khan and Din Muhammad.
https://nation.com.pk/21-Dec-2020/fazl-decides-not-to-appear-before-nab-team-if-summoned
