An accountability court here on Thursday resumed hearing a money laundering and assets beyond means case against Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and his family. The court assured the PML-N president that he would be acquitted if no evidence is found against you. But you have to contest the case, court tells Shehbaz Sharif.
ایک پیسے کی کرپشن نہیں کی خزانے سے تنخواہ نہیں لی!
حکومت میاں نواز شریف کی صحت پر سیاست کر رہی ہے!@CMShehbaz @TararAttaullah pic.twitter.com/fJpLeBwaER— 𝐑𝐚𝐣𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐛 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐟 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐚 🦁 (@ShadabYousaf) August 27, 2020
Judge Jawadul Hassan heard the case as the PML-N president appeared before the court. At the outset of the hearing, the judge asked the government lawyer present in court as to where Hamza Shehbaz was, to which he replied that he will be presented before the court in a short while.
Shehbaz stated before the judge that he had not been involved in the corruption of even a single penny. “I served the masses for twelve and a half years but never received TA/DA of a single rupee,” he continued. At this, the accountability judge assured the opposition leader that he will be delivered justice. “You will be acquitted if you are found not guilty.”
“I swear to God, I saved billions of rupees of the nation,” the PML-N president maintained, claiming he was implicated in a trumped-up case.
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The court allowed Shehbaz Sharif to leave the court after recording his attendance and issued arrest warrants for Suleman Shehbaz and Haroon Yousuf Aziz. It also issued summons to Shehbaz’s wife Nusrat Shehbaz and daughters, Rabia and Javeria.
Money laundering case against PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif
It is important to look into allegations leveled against him. According to a confidential investigation report seen by the Daily Mail, millions of pounds were transferred into the bank accounts of Shehbaz’s family members, including his wife, children and son-in-law. It states to have interviewed key witnesses held on remand in jail, including a UK citizen, Aftab Mehmood, who claims that he had laundered millions on behalf of Shahbaz’s family from a nondescript office in Birmingham – without attracting suspicion from Britain’s financial regulators, who inspected his books regularly.
According to Daily Mail, investigators are convinced that some of the allegedly stolen money came from the Department for International Development (DFID)-funded aid projects. For rehabilitating and rebuilding lives of the poor, the DFID gave £54 million from UK taxpayers; and the legal documents allege that Shehbaz’s son-in-law received about £1 million from that fund.
Read More: LHC bars NAB from arresting PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif
As per claims by the Daily Mail, Britain’s National Crime Agency has been working closely with Pakistani investigators and Home Secretary Sajid Javid discussing the possible extradition of members of his family, who have taken refuge in London.
It is yet to be seen how the NAB proceeds with the reference. In the past, legally weak references were filed by the NAB which did not prove effective in any way.