‘I’m with Nawaz’, says Asif before being remanded in NAB custody

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Islamabad on Wednesday granted National Accountability Bureau (NAB) one-day transit remand of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former defense minister Khawaja Asif and directed for him to be produced before the accountability court of Lahore.
The anti-graft watchdog arrested Asif on Monday on charges of being in possession of assets disproportionate to his declared sources of income. According to a spokesperson for the agency, Asif had earlier been summoned for an inquiry but failed to provide the required evidence.
Accountability judge Muhammad Bashir in a one-page judgment issued Wednesday recalled Asif was arrested on December 29, and that his arrest warrants were issued on December 23.
The judgment maintains the bureau sought a two-day remand. However, one-day transit remand was granted considering the travel distance between Islamabad and Lahore.
The former minister was produced before the court wherein his counsel requested for his release, stating there was “no case” against his client.
“Here, the case is of transit remand, so he [Asif] be presented in Lahore,” remarked judge Bashir.
“[He] will be shifted to Lahore as soon as the order is received,” the NAB prosecutor informed the court.
The accountability judge asked the PML-N leader whether he was informed of the reasons for his arrest. At this, Asif responded he was provided an unsigned copy of them. The judge then directed that he be provided a signed document of the reasons.
‘I’M WITH NAWAZ’:
While responding to media personnel’s queries before the proceedings began, Asif said he had been facing such cases for the past two years.
“I have been asked to leave Nawaz Sharif,” he said. “Efforts are being made to break up the party for the last two-and-a-half years and weaken Nawaz Sharif. I stand with his narrative.”
The PML-N leader further added that he was presented a charge sheet that his assets had increased, but the NAB had not conducted any investigation as of yet.
THE CASE:
In a press statement issued later, NAB Lahore said that the investigation against Asif was being conducted under Section 5 of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, and Section 3 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010.
According to the statement, Asif was elected as senator in 1991, prior to which he had total assets of Rs5.1 million. By 2018, this figure had ballooned to Rs221 million, which is not justifiable with his known sources of income, said the statement.
Besides, Asif was running a benami company in the name of his staffer, Tariq Mir. A sum of Rs400 million was deposited in the bank account of the company, titled ‘Tariq Mir and Company’, but there was no information about the sources of income, it added.