Ahad Cheema's arrest: opposition leader voices concern over bureaucrats' protest

Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Mahmood-ur-Rasheed showed grave concern over the protest of senior bureaucrats in favour of their colleague Ahad Cheema who was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). While addressing a press conference here on Friday, the Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (PTI) senior leader said that the bureaucracy has become a political party. He noted that no protests were seen in other provinces when bureaucrats were arrested, it only happened in Punjab. "The nation has now seen the true face of the bureaucracy. Innocent people do not act in such a manner (as shown by the bureaucrats)," he added.
He warned that they will not allow the proceeding of the Punjab Assembly to take place till the Punjab government shows willingness to cooperate with the NAB. He urged the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take a suo moto notice over the matter. "From Monday, the PTI will hold public protests and we will also lodge a strong protest in the Punjab Assembly," he added. The Opposition Leader accused the Punjab government of promoting corruption in the province. He believed that the government is pushing Punjab into anarchy. "A few weeks back, the government had taken a stance of not cooperating with the NAB and denying them an access to government records. The NAB Chairman has also complained that the Punjab government is not cooperating with them to eliminate corruption from Punjab. Hence, Ahad Cheema refused to appear before the NAB despite being served with several notices," he added.
He observed that after the arrest of Cheema, out-of-turn promoted officers held a protest strike and tried to lock government offices. He claimed that government officers from all Punjab were ordered to come out in the aid of their senior bureaucrat and the DC Lahore is arranging their meals. "All this is being done on the orders of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif," he alleged. Rasheed observed that rather than terminating his job, the government has promoted Cheema. Thus, he demanded that Cheema's promotion should be reversed and suspended from the job immediately. He also appealed to the bureaucrats to honor their oath; "if someone is forcing them to hold protests then tell us, we will come in their aid and break the locks".