Ashiana Housing scandal: Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shahbaz appear in NAB court

National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor Waris Janjua is presenting his arguments.

LAHORE (Dunya News) – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif, his son Hamza Shahbaz, former Lahore Development Authority (LDA) director general Ahad Cheema and other accused on Monday appeared before accountability court in Ashiana Housing and Ramzan Sugar Mills scandals. During the hearing, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor Waris Janjua presented his arguments. The copies of references have been given to the nominated accused in the cases. On February 18, accountability Court Judge Syed Najmul Hassan had indicted ten suspects including Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif in the Ashiana Iqbal Housing scandal. All the accused rejected the charges. The PMLN president swore to God that the case against him is false and affirmed to bring facts in front of the nation. He also accused the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of fraud. On February 15, LHC had ordered to release Shehbaz Sharif after approving his bail plea. The court said in its remarks that the NAB had failed to prove the allegations leveled against the PMLN president. Shehbaz Sharif never remained the chief executive of Ramzan Sugar Mills, LHC remarked. 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”.