The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has demanded the arrest of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Sharif in the money laundering case.
The FIA also urged Lahore’s central court to reject the accused persons’ interim bail in a case pertaining to the Rs16 billion money laundering case.
According to details reported by the media, a money laundering case was heard in the Lahore Special Court. The father and son duo appeared before the court amid strict security measures. During the hearing, the FIA demanded the arrest of PM Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab CM Hamza Shehbaz.
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The FIA prosecutor told the court that the arrest of the accused in the case is required as their role is yet to be proved. FIA Prosecutor Farooq Bajwa told the court that two accused including CFO Usman were not interrogated.
When Judge Ijaz Hassan Awan asked if the FIA wanted the custody of the duo, the FIA’s lawyer said “yes”. The lawyer said that they were never been part of the probe in the case, hence, the agency wanted to arrest them so that they could be interrogated.
FIA misleading the court: M. Amjad Pervaiz
On the other hand, Chief Minister Hamza’s counsel rejected the claims and accused the agency of misleading the court. Mohammad Amjad Pervaiz, representing the accused, said that the investigation has been going on for the last one-and-a-half year and the FIA has been unable to produce any evidence against his clients.
The FIA had in December 2021 submitted the challan against Shehbaz and Hamza to a special court for their alleged involvement in laundering an amount of Rs 16 billion in the sugar scam case. Moreover, FIA also claimed that the father-son duo failed to provide a money trail of Rs 16 billion which had nothing to do with their sugar business.
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“Today, the FIA has requested the court to allow them to arrest Shahbaz and Hamza Shahbaz. This was made possible by the timely notice of the Supreme Court. The people expect the courts to do justice and enforce the law worth billions of rupees. Money laundering criminals are in control of Pakistan,” PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry tweeted while reacting to the development.
آج FIA نے عدالت سے درخواست کی ہے کہ انھیں شہبازاور حمزہ شہباز کو گرفتار کرنے کی اجازت دی جائے،سپریم کورٹ کے بروقت نوٹس کی وجہ سے یہ ممکن ہوا، عوام عدالتوں سے امید کرتے ہیں کہ عدالتیں انصاف کریں اور قانون نافذ کریں اربوں روپے کی منی لانڈرنگ کے مجرم پاکستان پر بطورحکمران مسلط ہیں
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) June 4, 2022