Defiant Bilawal refuses to appear before NAB today.

Byline: Imran Ayub

KARACHI -- Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday came out with a stance of defiance over a notice he had received from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), second time in a month, in a case relating to the fake bank accounts and alleged money laundering when he announced plans not to appear before the anti-graft body on Tuesday (today), calling it 'part of a conspiracy' being hatched by the government to sabotage the party's Dec 27 rally in Rawalpindi to mark the 12th death anniversary of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

With an aggressive tone and strong criticism of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government, the PPP chairman at a press conference at Bilawal House sounded convinced that the fresh notice from NAB was in fact a pressure tactic from the 'selected government' to suppress his voice for true democracy and transparent accountability process. He refused to accept NAB as an institution and called it the product of a 'black law' which was envisaged by the dictator. But, he added, he used to appear before the anti-graft body on different notices only to respect the rule of law.

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'No,' Mr Bhutto-Zardari responded with a brief gesture when asked about his decision on call-up notice by NAB and chose to reply in detail the other question that was about the kind of pressure from the powerful circle on his party which led to such notices from the anti-graft body.

'There is not only one thing which brings pressure. There are several issues which led such pressures from the government. Among the key one is my political activity where I raise voice for the people of Pakistan, question the credibility...