LAHORE: An accountability court on Saturday remanded Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president Shahbaz Sharif in 10-day custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for investigation into the Rs14 billion Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme case.
Earlier, NAB and police officials brought Mr Sharif, who is also leader of opposition in the National Assembly, to the Lahore Judicial Complex amid strict security arrangements. The roads leading to the complex were cordoned off in addition to deployment of a heavy police contingent in and outside the complex. Police also denied entry to litigants and media persons to the premises.
Hundreds of charged PML-N workers stayed outside the complex the whole day and kept raising slogans against NAB and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government. Shahbaz Sharif’s sons Hamza Shahbaz and Salman Shahbaz, along with other PML-N leaders including Marriyum Aurangzeb, Rana Sanaullah Khan, Sohail Zia Butt, Shaista Pervez Malik, Saira Afzal Tarar and Azma Bokhari, turned up in the court.
Ex-CM tells judge he committed no illegality; charged PML-N workers incur wrath of police outside accountability court
Police resorted to baton-charge when PML-N workers climbed the armoured vehicle carrying Shahbaz Sharif. A party worker fell unconscious and many others suffered minor injuries.
Initially, former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz was taken to the chamber of Justice Syed Najamul Hassan Bokhari for the hearing of the case, but later the judge on the request of Mr Sharif’s lawyers took up the matter in the courtroom that was filled to capacity.
NAB Special Prosecutor Waris Ali Janjua submitted an application to the court seeking 15-day physical remand of Mr Sharif. In his arguments, the prosecutor said the Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC) following due approval of its board of directors (BoD) awarded the contract for infrastructure development of the Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme to the successful bidder — Ch. A. Latif & Sons in 2013.
He said the PLDC issued Rs75 million as mobilisation advance to the company whereas no complaint was received by the company’s BoD against the bidding process.
However, the prosecutor said, acting unlawfully on a so-called complaint, Mr Sharif as the then chief minister of Punjab assumed powers of the PLDC board and referred the matter to the Anti-Corruption Establishment to browbeat the successful bidder.
He said the investigation revealed that a company namely CONPRO Services (Pvt) Limited, which had filed the so-called complaint, had bribed then Punjab implementation secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad.
The prosecutor argued that the former chief minister without lawful authority ordered the PLDC to entrust the housing project to the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) when his close aide Ahad Khan Cheema was heading the authority as its director general.