LAHORE: A significant development occurred on Thursday as an accountability court in Lahore accepted the plea for acquittal from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son, Hamza Shahbaz, in a high-profile Rs 7 billion money laundering case.
The court had released Shehbaz Sharif on bail in April 2021 in this case. The court acquitted the prime minister Shehbaz, Nusrat Shehbaz (wife), Hamza Shehbaz (son) Javeria Ali (PM’s daughter), Muhammad Usman, Masroor Anwar, Shoaib Qamar, Qasim Qayyum, Rashid Karamat, Ali Ahmed, and Nisar Ahmed.
The court granted acquittal to all the co-accused while approving their petitions. Their argument was based on NAB’s failure to present any evidence against them.
NAB investigators also confirmed the absence of any evidence.
However, the court issued a perpetual arrest warrant for PM Shehbaz’s daughter, Rabia Imran. Authorities had declared her an absconder. The court had no choice but to acquit the accused since NAB had stated that they lacked evidence against them.
The anti-graft watchdog initiated the inquiry in August 2020, during PM Shehbaz’s tenure as the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly. Following the rejection of his bail plea by the Lahore High Court on September 29, 2020, PM.
NAB arrested Shehbaz Sharif. An accountability court indicted him, Hamza, and the other accused on November 11, 2020. Nonetheless, the prime minister was released on bail in April 2021.
