Pak oppn leader Shahbaz held in multi-billion housing scam

Lahore, October 5

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Pakistan’s Opposition leader  and PML-N chief Shahbaz Sharif was on Friday arrested by the country’s anti-graft body for his alleged involvement in two corruption cases, a senior official said. Shahbaz (67) is the younger brother of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

“Shahbaz on Friday appeared before an investigation team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Lahore. He was arrested after he failed to satisfy the investigator for his alleged role in awarding contracts to his favourite firm in violations of rules in the Ashiana Housing Scheme and Punjab Saaf Pani Company,” said NAB spokesperson Nawazish Ali Asim. Shahbaz would be presented before an accountability court for a physical remand on Saturday, he said.

He was allegedly involved in the corruption of Rs14 billion Ashiana Housing project and Rs 4 billion Punjab Saaf Pani Company scams.

The Saaf Pani Company was established by Shahbaz’s previous Punjab government to conceive, plan, design, execute and manage projects for provision of safe drinking water in terms of both access and quality to communities living in rural areas of the province.

Shahbaz’s son-in-law Ali Imran Yousuf is also facing corruption inquiries in this case. He has fled to the UK and the NAB has written to the interior ministry to bring him back from abroad through Interpol.

Shahbaz’s son Hamza has also been probed by the NAB for presiding over the company’s board of directors’ meetings many a time to issue directions for award of contracts to favourite firms.

Shahbaz’s blue-eyed officer Ahad Cheea and Sharif’s principal secretary Fawad Hasan Fawad are already in the NAB custody in the Ashiana housing scheme scam.

Sharif family’s advocate Amjad Pervaiz said, “Shahbaz is an opposition leader in the National Assembly and he cannot be arrested without the permission of the Speaker.” 

The PML-N has condemned the arrest of Shahbaz and termed it a “political victimisation”. — PTI