JUI-F supporters in the provincial capital are worried that if Durrani fails to produce records of his assets, the long march would receive a big blow.
It merits mention here that Durrani was the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) when General (r) Pervez Musharraf was president of Pakistan.
The JUI-F leader, while talking to Naya Daur, said that the federal government was behind this hasty decision after failing to find any NAB cases against him in the last decade.
He said that he was surprised to be summoned by the NAB Rawalpindi office when the anti-corruption watchdog’s Peshawar office was as much empowered to handle his case.
My son Zahid Akram Durrani has also been called by NAB Rawalpindi office in a case pertaining to assets beyond means, Durrani said.
The JUI-F leadership is prepared to absorb any pressure and it has not yet been decided whether appearance before NAB would be possible or not, he added.
He further said that all leaders of the party were concentrating on the long march rather than worrying about appearing before NAB.
The JUI-F leader alleged that the federal government had issued a statement through NAB to summon him at the bureau’s Rawalpindi office on October 7 to dent his party’s long march initiative.
He also told that NAB had asked him to provide details and documents regarding his properties and bank accounts.
According to a NAB notification, action would be taken per law if Durrani failed to appear at the bureau’s office with all the required records. The anti-corruption watchdog would also record the statement of Zahid Durrani in connection with his father's assets.
NAB summons have been issued to important leaders of JUI-F at a time when the party chief is all set to start his long march against the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
The JUI-F leadership seems to be in no mood to tolerate the current government and has asked other political parties to support its march. Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) has responded to Fazl’s call. The PML-N Peshawar chapter has also nominated a committee to take care of workers participating in the march.