Bilawal says will not appear before NAB on Dec 24, terms call-up notice 'illegal'

PPP Chairman Bilawal BhuttoZardari on Monday announced that he will not appear before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on December 24, saying the call-up notice served to him by the anti-corruption watchdog is "unconstitutional and illegal". NAB had summoned the PPP chairperson for a second time this month in the fake bank accounts and money laundering case on Dec 24 (today).

Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Bilawal accused the government of creating obstacles in his party's plans to observe former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's death anniversary on Dec 27.

His presser came just hours after senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal was arrested by NAB in the Narowal Sports City (NSC) Project corruption case. Bilawal said he had been repeatedly announcing that the PPP would observe Benazir's death anniversary on Dec 27 in Rawalpindi, where she was assassinated. Despite this, he said, he was issued a call-up notice by the "NAB-government nexus".

He accused the government of "preventing a son from observing the death anniversary of his mother".

Bilawal claimed that the government has till yet not issued permission to hold the death anniversary observance ceremony and accused it of hindering PPP workers from making transportation arrangements in connection with the event. He said the former chief justice of Pakistan had stated that the PPP chairperson had "nothing to do" with the fake case accounts case after receiving a report of the joint investigation team probing the matter.

Despite this, Bilawal said, he had appeared before NAB to answer its questions and also responded to the bureau's questionnaires. "The PPP had neither come under pressure earlier nor will I come under any pressure today," the PPP leader declared, adding that he has conveyed to NAB through his lawyers that he will not appear before it on Tuesday.

Despite his objections regarding NAB's functioning, Bilawal said he will continue to appear before the bureau - but not on Dec 24 - because "I respect the rule of law of this country and I can face all these illegitimate accusations".

Bilawal accused the government of repeatedly "targeting" opposition parties and keeping their members incarcerated for months without charge.