Beleaguered by NAB and coronavirus, PML-N carries on.

Byline: KHALID RASHEED

LAHORE -- As the novel coronavirus pandemic rages on, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is finding itself stuck between a rock and a hard place.

On one hand, the party appears beleaguered as prominent leaders find themselves back in the National Accountability Bureau's crosshairs. On the other, there is the virus itself.

No party is immune to Covid-19 for sure, but more cases have popped up from PML-N than any other political faction. More than 25 of PML-N's central and provincial leaders, including its head honcho, have fallen victim to the contagion. Two of the party's members - MPA Shaukat Manzoor Cheema and Rawalpindi Information Secretary Akmal Mirza - have even lost their lives to the virus.

Some, like Amir Muqam and Ataullah Tarar, have recovered and can count themselves lucky. But many other prominent PML-N figures, from central president and NA opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif to secretary general Ahsan Iqbal, spokesperson Maryam Aurangzeb, former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and former NA speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, remain infected and have been forced to isolate themselves.

Former cabinet members Saira Afzal Tarar and Tariq Fazl Chaudhry, ex-senator Nihal Hashmi and MNAs Imran Shah and Tahira Aurangzeb are also currently battling the virus, as are provincial leaders Salman Rafique, Saiful Muluk Khokhar, Rana Iqbal, Mian Naveed Ali and Ansar Majeed Khan.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, sources in PML-N claimed that one reason that could explain why the party had more Covid-19 cases was because it was more proactive in distributing rations and supplies during lockdown.

They also criticised the NAB move to summon senior leaders, saying it had exposed them to the highly contagious virus. Sharif's wife Tehmina Durrani is among those who made this allegation. In a Twitter post, she said the NAB action not only exposed the PML-N chief to Covid-19 but her as well. 'Punjab's 'life long' Khadim e Aaala's (intentional) exposure 2 huge crowds at NAB and...