LAHORE: Pakistan’s anti-graft agency on Friday raided the house of leader of the opposition Mian Shehbaz Sharif in the eastern city of Lahore to arrest his son Hamza Shehbaz in two cases related to money laundering and possession of assets beyond means.
The raid at 96- H Model Town, one of the ancestral homes of the Sharif family, was unsuccessful as private guards and party loyalists present at the scene scuffled with inspectors and tore their clothes, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) said in a statement.
The bureau says it had arrest warrants for Shehbaz, who is a legislator in the Punjab provincial assembly, and the Supreme Court had made it clear that the anti-graft body did not need to inform suspects prior to their arrests.
“Therefore, there has been a clear violation of the law by Hamza Shehbaz,” the statement said. “Those who interfere in NAB’s legal action and the operations of the state will be proceeded against as per the law.”
Malik Muhammad Ahmed, the spokesman for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party of which Shehbaz Sharif is the president, said the NAB inspectors did not have arrest warrants.
Speaking to media after the unsuccessful raid, Hamza Shehbaz also reiterated that NAB officials came without warrants and had violated the sanctity of his home.
“I have a court order saying that I will be informed 10 days prior to arrest,” he said. “For the first time, I felt like we are terrorists, the way the raid was conducted,” he added, saying he had always cooperated with NAB authorities and appeared before the body whenever was summoned.
“What was the need for this step?” Shehbaz said. “I am not afraid of arrest but NAB used unlawful tactics because the government asked it to.”
Shahbaz Gill, a spokesman for the Punjab government, said NAB was an autonomous institution and did not require the government’s permission to carry out any action.
NAB has now summoned Sharif and his two sons, Hamza Shehbaz and Salman Shehbaz, to file their replies in the money laundering and possession of assets beyond means cases on April 9.
Shehbaz Sharif was arrested last October in a longstanding corruption case nine days before crucial by-elections were due to be held. His brother, ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison by a NAB court after the Supreme Court removed him from power.
Nawaz Sharif has denounced corruption cases against him and his party’s leaders as politically motivated, and both brothers deny any wrongdoing.
Pakistan's accountability bureau raids home of Shehbaz Sharif to arrest son
Pakistan's accountability bureau raids home of Shehbaz Sharif to arrest son
- Scuffle broke out between NAB officials and Sharif’s private guards foiling the raid
- Hamza Shehbaz accused NAB of “unlawful tactics” under government’s pressure
In Peshawar, 76-year-old artist struggles to keep near-extinct Mughal wax art alive
- Craft involves intricate process using heated wax, oil, pigments, limestone to create textured, miniature artworks
- Riaz Ahmad, who has trained his son in wax art, says he hopes to train more people to preserve traditional craft
PESHAWAR: Riaz Ahmad, 76, stirs wax in a small plastic can with a long chopstick, takes it out on the palm of his left hand and adds natural color before drawing designs on a piece of cloth.
Surrounded by several such pieces of black cloth with unique art, Ahmad strives every passing day to keep the 500-year-old, Mughal-era wax art alive at his home near the Lahori Gate in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.
Ahmad comes from a well-known family of wax artists who were based in Shillong and Darjeeling in present-day India and had migrated to Peshawar during the 1947 partition of the sub-continent.
His work remains rooted in tradition, faithfully repeating patterns passed down through generations and winning Ahmad several awards both at home and abroad in recognition of his dedication.
“I have been making the same Mughal era designs that my forefathers used to make,” he told Arab News last week.
“I went to India in 2004, where I received the UNESCO Seal of Excellence [for Handicrafts] award... On 23 March, 2012, the Government of Pakistan awarded me the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.”
The near-extinct traditional craft, which is believed to have originated in Central Asia and refined under the Mughal patronage, particularly in Peshawar, involves an intricate process using heated wax, linseed oil, powdered pigments, and limestone to create detailed, textured and often colorful miniature artworks by hand.
Ahmad learnt wax art from his father, Miran Bakhsh, nearly six decades ago.
“My parents used to do this work in Shillong and Darjeeling [in present-day India]. They had a shop there, and after the Partition, they migrated to Peshawar, Pakistan,” he said. “When they came here, they started doing the same work.”
A basic piece of his work costs around Rs3,000 ($10.7). A larger piece made on order can fetch between Rs5,000 and Rs15,000 ($17-$53), but such orders are rare.
“Wax and colors have become expensive. When I sell a piece for Rs3,000, around Rs1,000 goes into expenses, and Rs2,000 is my daily wage,” Ahmad said.
But the 76-year-old worries more about the future of the art form, which he insists cannot be learned quickly and requires “love and dedication.”
“Some people say they want to come, some from Karachi and some from Lahore, but it becomes difficult for me to go there or for them to come here,” he said.
Most wax artists in Peshawar have abandoned the art due to a lack of institutional support, according to Ahmad, who relies primarily on exhibitions to earn a living.
“The reason [for the decline of this art form] is that the government does not pay attention. They are caught in their own conflicts, and the culture is suffering,” Ahmad said.
“Other artists have left this art. Some are selling rice and some are driving rickshaws,” he added. “I have been doing this work inside my house. If there is any event, we go there and sell our art.”
Saad Bin Awais, a spokesperson for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority (KPCTA), said the government has engaged artisans in several projects. He said some of these projects have come to an end while others are ongoing.
“Riaz Ahmad is the only wax artist in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the authority is serious about facilitating him,” he said, adding that the KPCTA facilitates Ahmad’s participation in exhibitions across the country to showcase his art.
“We have also been collecting data of artists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for an upcoming project to facilitate them in any way possible.”
Ahmad has trained his son, Fayyaz, in wax art who now practices it in Islamabad. The septuagenarian says he wishes to train more people to preserve the dying art form.
“I cannot leave this work,” he said. “I will continue this art even though my hands shake.”
