Shahbaz, Hamza indicted in Ramzan Sugar Mills reference

LAHORE: An accountability court on Tuesday framed charges against Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif and his son, Hamza Shahbaz, in Ramzan Sugar Mills reference.

According to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) charges, the accused spent Rs210 million government money for construction of a drain for their own benefit. The duo appeared before Accountability Court Judge Najamul Hassan amid tight security. Heavy contingent of the law-enforcement agencies had cordoned off the court premises.

NAB Prosecutor Waris Ali Janjua read out the charge-sheet against the accused, after which the court asked Shahbaz and Hamza whether they accept charges or not. Both pleaded not guilty, after which the court adjourned the case hearing, and summoned prosecution witnesses for the next hearing.

When the NAB prosecutor was reading out the charges that public funds were used for a drain built exclusively for Ramzan Sugar Mills, Shahbaz Sharif interrupted and said that NAB had fabricated a case against him. He claimed that he had saved billions of rupees of national money in construction of projects, then he could use the public money for construction of a drain. Not a single penny of national exchequer had ever been misused, he claimed.

However, the judge stopped Shahbaz from speaking, saying he (Shahbaz) would be given time to present his stance. The judge remarked that he (Shahbaz) was facing allegations which were yet to be proved. “During the trial proceedings, you will be given time to present your stance,” the judge added.

The court, after indicting Shahbaz and Hamza, held proceedings of Ashiana Housing scam and recorded statements of two prosecution witnesses including Masood Akhtar and Riaz Hussain. Shahbaz Sharif has already been indicted in the reference.

Interestingly, Shahbaz Sharif and Ahad Cheema, prime suspects in Ashiana scam, indulged in a long conversation in the courtroom. Both kept on whispering during the proceedings. As per Ramzan Sugar Mills reference, NAB blamed Hamza Shahbaz for his alleged role being the chief executive of the mills to get constructed a drain exclusively for his mills with the public money in Chiniot.

The then chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, allegedly approved an amount of Rs210 million for construction of the drain. Earlier, NAB had grilled Salman Shahbaz, but he went to United Kingdom and never returned to join investigations. Moreover, Shahbaz was due before the Combined Investigation Team of NAB on Tuesday in assets beyond means and money-laundering investigations, but he did not show up.