PPP, PML-N decide to jointly fight against NAB

KARACHI: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have decided to join forces against the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and resit the arrests of leaders from both parties.

The decision was taken during a meeting between PML-N President and Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif and PPP Co-Chairman and former President Asif Ali Zardari at Bilawal House, Karachi on Wednesday.

Sources said Sharif, along with his party leaders, had met PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and former president Asif Ali Zardari during his visit to Karachi that aimed to “express solidarity” with the Karachi residents following the flooding caused by torrential rains in the metropolis.

Sources said in the meeting the top leaders of both parties decided that the government has resorted to high-handed tactics to stop political activists from fighting for public rights, which would be jointly thwarted.

Sources further said that PML-N leaders suggested liaising with all like-minded parties in the Parliament during the meeting. Both parties berated the federal government and lamented that “the fundamental rights of Pakistanis were being usurped”.

They agreed to “struggle for the supremacy of the Constitution, independent courts and free media”.

The opposition leaders said that the government’s accountability process was one-sided and that no one affiliated with the ruling party was being held accountable or questioned.

It was also decided to announce the date of All Parties Conference (APC) in consultation with all opposition parties.

The PPP delegation included Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and PPP Sindh President Nisar Khuhro, Farhatullah Babar, Syed Naveed Qamar, Waqar Mehdi and Aajez Dhamra.

PML-N delegation included Ahsan Iqbal, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Zubair Ahmed, Rana Mashhood and Shah Muhammad Shah.

Earlier, Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Karachi on a two-day visit to the port city after it was ravaged by urban flooding due to record rainfall. Shehbaz visited rain-affected areas and expressed solidarity with those affected by the torrential rains.

Last week, a three-day spell of record-breaking monsoon rains played havoc with Karachi’s infrastructure, flooding all key roads, submerging underpasses and streets and paralyzing all segments of life.

Many areas in the city are still inundated with water and are without power. Residents of affected areas no more have access to clean drinking water and are awaiting the government to drain the water.