Ashiana Housing scam: Court extends Shehbaz's physical remand by 14 days

NAB had interrogated Shehbaz regarding CASA Developers and Paragon City scandals prior to hearing.

LAHORE (Dunya News) – Accountability court on Tuesday has extended Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif’s physical remand by 14 days and handed him over to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to probe Ashiana Housing scandal.

Shehbaz Sharif, who was arrested by NAB on October 5, was presented before the court after his previous 10-day physical remand ended today.

During the proceedings, anti-graft watchdog’s prosecutor Waris Ali Janjua requested the court to extend remand of Shehbaz Sharif by 15 days. The court briefly reserved its verdict and announced it granting NAB another 10-day physical remand of PML-N president.

Stringent security arrangements were in place for the PML-N president’s appearance before the court.

Earlier on October 15, NAB had interrogated Shehbaz Sharif regarding CASA Developers and Paragon City scandals prior to his appearance in the court. Ex-Chief Minister of Punjab (CM) said he himself ordered investigation into corruption allegations in Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme.

Shehbaz Sharif’s arrest

NAB had arrested Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme scam on October 5. The former chief minister was charged with awarding illegal contracts to his favorite firm.

He was apprehended during his appearance before NAB in Saaf Pani Company scam. Sources told that three files were tabled before him. The bureau quizzed Sharif regarding a tender awarded to a private consultancy company for a survey of the Saaf Pani company.

The PML-N president had failed to satisfy the probing team of the bureau during the investigation and was ultimately arrested.

The anti-graft watchdog had claimed that the company did not conduct any kind of survey but nevertheless was provided a lucrative sum of Rs 1.5 billion.

Ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad became an approver in the case. Fawad Hassan Fawad, in his statement before NAB, had claimed that he had awarded a contract to a “favourite firm” in the Rs14 billion Ashiana Housing project at the behest of Shahbaz Sharif.

The anti-graft agency said that the contract for the housing scheme was won by a construction company titled Chaudhry Latif and Sons but Sharif cancelled it and later on awarded the contract to Lahore Casa Developers – a proxy group of Paragon City (Pvt) Limited, which is said to be owned by ex-Railways Minister Saad Rafique”.

Shehbaz Sharif’s remand

Shehbaz Sharif was handed over to NAB on a 10-day physical remand to probe Ashiana Housing scandal on October 7.

During the proceedings, NAB prosecutor Waris Ali Janjua pleaded that Shehbaz Sharif inflicted millions of rupees loss on national exchequer by canceling scheme’s contract with Latif Sons and awarding it to CASA Developers.

PMl-N president denied all the charges against him and asserted that he was not involved in a corruption of a single penny.