In a series of tweets, Maryam Nawaz responded to the arrest of the former chief minister of Punjab, saying: "Make no mistake. Shehbaz Sharif has been arrested ONLY because he REFUSED to play in the hands of those who wanted to use him against his brother. He preferred standing behind prison bars than to stand against his brother."
National Assembly Leader of Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday after the Lahore High Court (LHC) rejected his bail in a money laundering case. Shehbaz was taken into custody from the court's premises, where a large number of PML-N workers and supporters had gathered ahead of the hearing.
Corruption allegation against Bajwa:
In a news report published on FactFocus, Investigate Journalist Ahmad Noorani accused Gen Asim Bajwa of accumulating disproportionate assets by using his influence as an army general.
Noorani revealed that the growth of the ‘Bajwa family’s business empire in the United States and later in Pakistan directly matches the rise in power of retired general Asim Saleem Bajwa’.
The report claimed, “The Bajwa family’s companies spent an estimated $52.2 million to develop their businesses and $14.5 million to purchase properties in the United States, while Asim Bajwa and his department were encouraging Pakistanis to invest within their relatively undeveloped country. The businesses of the Bajwa family through different companies were named as Bajco Group.”
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) demanded the authorities probe the corruption charges against Bajwa.
During a court hearing earlier this week, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said Asim Saleem Bajwa should provide a money trail following corruption allegations against him. The PML-N leader had said after the graft allegations against the former military spokesperson, an explanation was necessary.
She had said Gen Asim Bajwa should respond to the allegations of accumulating massive wealth during his tenure as the top military officer.
Prime Minister Imran Khan had also refused to accept the resignation of his special assistant on information, Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa after the latter resigned over corruption allegations. The Prime Minister’s Office said that the premier has refused to accept the resignation letter of Gen Bajwa as he was ‘satisfied by the clarification’ given by the special assistant.