PML-N president and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif has tested positive for coronavirus, party representative Marriyum Aurangzeb affirmed on Thursday.
Sharif has quarantined himself at home, she included.
Party leader Ataullah Tarar also confirmed the development and said Sharif’s “life had been endangered in this situation by NAB’s summoning of him”.
“NAB was informed multiple times in writing that Shehbaz Sharif has suffered from cancer and compared to other people, his immunity system is weak,” Tarar said and added that Sharif had only left home to appear before NAB.
“Imran Niazi and NAB will be responsible if something happens to Shehbaz Sharif,” he said.
The PML-N president had showed up before the National Accountability Bureau on Tuesday regarding investigations relating to tax evasion and income beyond means.
Not long ago, he had also showed up before the Lahore High Court to acquire a pre-arrest bail in cases with respect to tax evasion and income beyond means. Sharif had filed the plea in the high court a day prior to when NAB group raided his residence to arrest him on June 2, after he requested to not show up before the accountability watchdog.
Sharif had thrice refused to appear before NAB citing health reasons. In a statement submitted to the bureau, he said: “It has been widely reported in the media that some NAB officials have tested positive for Covid-19.
“Please appreciate [that] I am a cancer survivor and 69 years old. I have been advised limited exposure on account of the peculiar background of low immunity,” he said.
He added that he was available to answer any questions by the investigation team by means of Skype.
Sharif is the most recent PML-N leader to have tested positive for the virus. Numerous other members from PML-N’s top-level authority have been determined to have the ailment, including Aurangzeb, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Ahsan Iqbal and previous head administrator Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
