Ahsan Iqbal arrested by NAB in Narowal Sports City case

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Ahsan Iqbal was arrested on Monday by the National Accountability Bureau as he appeared before it in relation to a corruption case. 

According to a NAB spokesman, the authority has arrested the PML-N leader in relation to the Narowal Sports City Complex case. The NAB's Rawalpindi chapter had summoned Iqbal in relation to the case today.

According to the NAB, Ahsan Iqbal will be presented before an accountability court on Tuesday for his physical remand.

His medical check-up will be completed today. 

Sources said the arrest warrant for the PML-leader was signed by NAB Chairman Justice (Retd) Javed Iqbal.

NAB had begun investigating the complex in July 2018. It was built at the staggering cost of over Rs3,000 million.

The NAB investigation team also visited the Narowal Sports City project last month to secure records.

The mega venture was one of the primary projects developed under former minister for planning Ahsan Iqbal during the PML-N's tenure.

Also read: IHC grants bail to Miftah Ismail in LNG case

Ahsan Iqbal had surgery three days ago: Marriyum Aurangzeb

PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb, while reacting harshly to the arrest, revealed that Iqbal had undergone surgery merely three days ago.

She said that the surgery was related to the incident last year in May, where an assailant had shot at the then minister in his own constituency, Narowal. Iqbal's bone was fractured after he received a bullet in his right shoulder.

A visibly enraged Marriyum Aurangzeb said that the party will continue calling out the incompetence of the incumbent government.

She said Ahsan Iqbal never commissioned the Narowal project as it was launched in the Pakistan Peoples Party's tenure. 

“It was a dormant project that Ahsan Iqbal revived during the PML-N’s rule,” she said.

Meanwhile, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the arrest of Ahsan Iqbal. "The arrest of a person who fortified Pakistan-China friendship and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is deplorable."

Opposition leaders being arrested through NAB, alleges Talal Chaudhry

Senior PML-N leader Talal Chaudhry spoke to Geo News to share his views about Ahsan Iqbal’s arrest.

He alleged that the government is trying to control the opposition and arresting leaders through the NAB.

“Ahsan Iqbal knew he might be arrested, but he stood by his stance,” said Chaudhry, adding that there was a nexus ‘between Imran Khan and NAB’.

Read more: LHC tells Maryam to wait for govt's decision in ECL case