A special court in Lahore on Saturday extended the interim bail of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz until May 28 in the Rs16 billion money laundering case.
Judge of the Special Court (Central-I) Ijaz Hassan Awan also issued arrest warrants for Suleman Shahbaz, Tahir Naqvi and Malik Maqsood in the case, stating that the three have already been declared absconders by the magistrate’s court.
Judge Awan adjourned the hearing till May 28.
During the hearing today, Judge Ijaz Hassan Awan complained that due to the security of the prime minister others coming to the court had to suffer.
Replying to his complaint, PM Shehbaz mentioned that he has asked his security not to stop anybody. “I am appearing before the court in order to maintain its dignity and follow the laws of the country,” the premier added.
The presiding judge of the special court (Central-I) summoned the deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and station house officer (SHO); however, both officials denied appearing in the court. At this, the judge noted that the police do not adhere to the orders of the court.
‘Insufficient records’
Presenting his arguments in the court, Mohammad Amjad Pervaiz — counsel for PM Shehbaz and CM Hamza — said that charges were filed against his clients between 2008 and 2018 and the prosecution team had removed many of them in the challan.
He said that the record presented by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is “insufficient” to prove the charges levelled against his clients.
The premier’s counsel argued that he has no connection with sugar mills and “none of the witness statements corroborated that he was a part of the sugar mill management.”
“Shehbaz neither has any share in the bank accounts nor a single penny from these 14 accounts were transferred to his account in last 10 years,” he said, adding that there is no evidence found in this regard.
‘Proved innocent in UK’
When the court asked PM Shehbaz to take the rostrum, the premier said he would have committed a crime if hadn’t appeared in the court.
“On the orders of former prime minister Imran Khan, an investigation was conducted in Britain and I was proved innocent,” PM Shehbaz recalled, adding that he returned to Pakistan back in 2004 and wouldn’t have come back if he had black money.
Regarding the investigations conducted by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and National Crime Agency (NCA), he stated that the latter investigated the matter for nearly two years; however, they found nothing against him.
