Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahbaz Sharif has rejected reports of being a loan defaulter, saying he would quit politics if graft references against him were proven right.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday passed on information to election authorities about three graft references against PML-N leadership. The references are pending in Accountability Court, Rawalpindi.The former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz told reporters on Friday that all allegations against him were false, requesting the caretaker government to take notice of the accusations levelled against his “popular party”.
He said if action against such unwarranted claims was not taken, the people might assume that the accusers were supported by the interim setup.Shahbaz said a media campaign had been launched against him and his brother Nawaz Sharif under a planned strategy and said some newspapers had published fabricated stories against them.He said their opponents were afraid of the popularity of the PML-N and had started using negative tactics.
Shahbaz said loan defaulters should not be allowed to take part in the elections.The former CM said such propaganda was being carried out against the PML-N because other political parties were afraid of its expected victory in the upcoming elections.He called on the Election Commission to get the code of conduct for media implemented, adding that the chief election commissioner and caretaker prime minister should also play their role in this regard.
Shahbaz asked NAB chief Fasih Bokhari to rebuff the report or be prepared to face legal action.He challenged the National Accountability Bureau to present hard evidence against the bank default allegations.He said a “gang of four people” was involved in a malicious campaign against the Sharif brothers due to their party’s popularity in all four provinces. “We will expose the gang at an appropriate time,” he added.
