On Monday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appeared in front of an accountability court in connection with the Ashiana Housing Scheme and the Ramazan Sugar Mills.
Meanwhile, Ahad Khan Cheema, a co-accused former director-general of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), arrived in court. Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz has also been summoned today.
During the last hearing on June 11, PM Shehbaz addressed the court, claiming that in the Ashiana case, “I had misused my authority.” The Lahore High Court (LHC) rendered a thorough decision on my case.”
“The National Accountability Court (NAB) petitioned the Supreme Court for the cancellation of my bail, and the then-chief justice inquired as to the location of the proof of corruption. The NAB bolted from there,” Shehbaz had asserted.
In 2020, PM Shehbaz and CM Hamza were indicted in the Ramzan Sugar Mills scandal.
The NAB said in its reference that Shehbaz, as Punjab’s chief minister at the time, issued a direction for the building of a drain in Chiniot district, primarily for the use of Ramzan Sugar Mills, which is controlled by his sons. It was stated that Rs200 million was spent on the drain of public funds.
While the accountability bureau further claimed that the then-National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz and other suspects caused a substantial loss to the national exchequer by awarding the contract for the Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme to a business without a competitive bidding process.
