The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday arrested Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz from inside the Lahore High Court (LHC) in two cases regarding money laundering and holding assets beyond means.
A NAB team left the court with Hamza, who was taken to the Thokar Niaz Baig offices of the accountability watchdog.
The arrest took place after Hamza’s lawyer withdrew the application for bail extension in the two corruption cases, following which a two-member LHC bench headed by Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi recalled Hamza’s interim bail.
Hamza’s lawyer withdrew the bail application after the LHC bench refused to entertain his request for ordering NAB to produce a Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) document that contains details of money laundering allegations against his client.
During the hearing, NAB’s Additional Prosecutor General Jehanzeb Bharwana told the court that Hamza’s assets were not according to his income and that the PML-N leader and his family were involved in money laundering. Following the arrest, PML-N workers protested at the GPO Chowk in Lahore and blocked traffic.
According to NAB sources, Hamza will be presented in an accountability court today (Wednesday). Hamza and his father Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif were indicted in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case on April 9.
The NAB in February had filed a reference against the two, alleging that the former chief minister of Punjab misused his authority by using public funds for the construction of a bridge to facilitate the mill, owned by his sons.
PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz Sharif said Hamza was arrested to divert attention from the failure of economic survey and the budget.
Maryam in a post on Twitter said, “To divert attention from historical failures like economic survey and budget, arrests are being made. These arrests will not save you from the anger of people.”
“Falling walls cannot be saved with arrests. In a government where the whole nation is in a state of arrest, the prime minister cannot save himself with the arrests of the opposition,” she added.
Talking to a private news channel, PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said the government was arresting opposition members to hide its incompetence.
“These arrests are an act of political revenge,” he said. “The NAB arrested Saad Rafique and could not make any case on him. He was also taken into custody in a case like this.” He added, “This is an incompetent government that could not make any case.”
Talking to a private news channel before his interim bail was rejected, Hamza said, “I told the Pakistani nation that I have not done any corruption. I have challenged NAB that if they can prove even a penny worth of corruption against me, I will leave politics.”
He further said, “The NAB chairman has ordered my arrest. It remains to be seen whether NAB will arrest me or justice will prevail. Prison is not new for me.”
