LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has seized the assets of Shahbaz family members who were declared proclaimed offenders in an assets beyond means and money-laundering reference by the court.
The development took place during the hearing of the reference in an accountability court where the NAB submitted an implementation report regarding seizure of assets of the proclaimed offenders in the case. The court was informed that the bureau has confiscated assets of Shahbaz Sharif’s wife Nusrat Shahbaz, son Suleman Shahbaz, daughter Rabia Imran and son-in-law Haroon Yousaf.
Jail authorities produced Shahbaz and his son Hamza Shahbaz before the court, both accused in the case. During the proceedings, Shahbaz informed the court about his health issues and alleged the government’s non-seriousness towards addressing them. He said he had received his medical reports which are worrisome. He alleged that the government kept his medical reports hidden for 15 days. Only orthopaedic doctors came to the jail on Monday. He informed the court that the panel of government doctors did not include cancer doctors. The board of doctors came just for formality, he said, adding that the board of doctors itself was wondering why the rest of the doctors were not included.
He implored the court to include the doctors in the board, who have been examining him for 20 years. On this, the judge directed Shahbaz to submit a comprehensive written request so that he could forward it to the quarters concerned.
Meanwhile, the counsel of Shahbaz Sharif cross-examined prosecution witness Khalid Mehmood after which the court adjourned the hearing till January 4. The court has summoned prosecution witnesses including Ibrahim Malik and Muhammad Sharif on the next hearing.
PML-N Deputy General Secretary Ata Tarar, after the hearing while talking to the media, said that according to all available documents of the NAB, not a single penny of corruption could be proved against Shahbaz Sharif.
He said people involved in flour, sugar, medicine and LNG scandals are roaming free and no one asks how Bani Gala has been regularized. He said that the FIA has so far interrogated Shahbaz Sharif in the jail for only 7 minutes and 23 seconds. He claimed that when the NAB failed to prove anything against Shahbaz, Shehzad Akbar, who owns foreign properties, handed over the investigation to the FIA. Traveling in an armoured vehicle has worsened Shahbaz Sharif's backache. He alleged that on personal orders of PM Imran Khan, the medial reports of Shahbaz Sharif were delayed. “We are taking Shahbaz Gill and Shehzad Akbar to the courts,” he said.
