Nawaz's 'lions' not daunted by Khawaja Asif's arrest: Maryam & father scorch PM Imran Khan

PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz has said that the "lions" of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) are not scared by the arrest of former Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif. "If you (Imran Khan) think Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and the PML-N will be scared, then that is your delusion," Maryam warned the Prime Minister while speaking at a workers' convention in Islamabad on Wednesday.

'Listen here! Every act of oppression strengthens me'

The News International quoted her saying that if he (the Prime Minister) thinks that the "lions of the Muslim League would be scared", "Listen here! Every act of oppression strengthens me." The report said the PML-N leader referred to accusations against Nawaz Sharif and said, he was "accused of treason, fatwas were issued," but people "threw the accusations against Nawaz Sharif in the trash". On Tuesday PML-N leader Khawaja Asif was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Islamabad over allegations of acquiring assets beyond his known sources of income.

Meanwhile, Khawaja Muhammad Asif was on Thursday remanded in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for 14 days in the assets beyond means case. The Accountability Court Lahore on Thursday accepted the plea of NAB and granted it 14-day remand of Asif, the close aide of deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who condemned the arrest.

"The arrest of Khawaja Asif is a result of the nexus between the selectors (army and ISI chiefs Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and Gen Faiz Hameed) and the selected (Prime Minister Imran Khan). Such belittle acts reflect the government's state of panic, but it is moving even closer to its end through such actions," Nawaz said in a tweet from London where he has been living in self-exile after the Imran Khan government declared him absconder.

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'Asif tried to prove his income through fake sources': NAB

In the court, Asif told the judge that he remained a member of the National Assembly and the NAB constituted a case of PKR 210 million against him. On this, the judge said, "who knows NAB recovers another Rs 210m during the investigation." The court also directed NAB to allow family members of Asif to meet him, according to a PTI report.

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According to NAB, before assuming the public office in 1991, the total worth of Asif's assets was Rs 5.1 million which increased to Rs 221 million in 2018 after serving on different posts which do not match with his known sources of income.

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"Asif claimed to have received Rs 130 million from a UAE firm M/s IMECO, but during the course of the investigation, he failed to present any solid evidence of receiving this amount as a salary. This clearly shows that the accused tried to prove his income through fake sources," it said. NAB said Asif was also running a benami firm 'Tariq Mir and Company' which was registered in the name of his employee. An amount of Rs 400 million was deposited in the account of Tariq Mir and no sources of this huge amount were disclosed, it alleged.

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(With agency inputs)