Shehbaz, Hamza indicted

LAHORE: An accountability court on Tuesday indicted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz in Ramzan Sugar Mills case.

The father son duo appeared before Accountability Court Judge Syed Najamul Hassan Bukhari in connection with Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing and Ramzan Sugar Mills cases.

Both Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz pleaded not guilty when the judge read the charges against them in Ramzan Sugar Mills case.

During the course of hearing, the court ordered a prosecution witnesses to record his testimony on the next of hearing.

Scores of PMLN workers had gathered outside the court chanting slogans in favour of their party leaders.

Strict security arrangements were made on this occasion.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a reference against Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz.

The anti-graft watchdog alleged that Shehbaz Sharif as Punjab chief minister misused his authority and got constructed a 10 kilometers sludge carrier in district Chiniot to facilitate Ramzan Sugar Mills owned by his sons.

The NAB said t the decision inflicted a loss of Rs213 million to the national exchequer.

The hearing came two days after NAB conducted two raids at the Model Town residence of Shehbaz Sharif in order to arrest his son Hamza Shehbaz.

The NAB, however, faced strong resistance from the PMLN leaders and failed to arrest him in the first raid on Saturday.

On Sunday, the NAB team visited the residence of Sharifs along with heavy contingent of police and cordoned off the area for hours.

They again failed to take Hamza Shehbaz as the Lahore High Court barred the NAB to arrest the PMLN leader who also happens to be Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assmembly.

Hamza Shehbaz condemned the NAB action and called it a violation of superior judiciary’s orders.