–Accountability court summons NA Opp leader, son Hamza in Ramzan Sugar Mills case on March 4
ISLAMABAD: The Interior Ministry on Tuesday placed the name of National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif on the Exit Control List (ECL), restraining him from foreign trips for the next 30 days.
Reportedly, the former chief minister of Punjab was scheduled to jet off to London to be with his ailing newborn granddaughter, who was diagnosed with a cardiac disease and underwent surgery last week.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday requested the Interior Ministry to put the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president’s name on the ‘no-fly list’ amidst an on-going case for owning assets beyond disclosed sources of income against him.
A summary was made and sent to the federal cabinet in compliance with the anti-graft watchdog’s request. Following its approval, Sharif was placed on ECL.
The Ashiana scam reference pertains to a Rs14 billion contract that was unlawfully awarded to CASA Developers by former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz and his aides. Shehbaz has recently been bailed out in the Ashiana and Ramzan Sugar Mills cases after remaining in NAB custody for over 100 days.
According to reports, Fawad Hasan Fawad, while serving as implementation secretary to the then-Punjab chief minister in the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing project, had misused his authority.
Sharif was arrested on October 6, 2018, in the Ashiana Housing Scheme scam.
NOTICES ISSUED IN RAMZAN SUGAR MILLS CASE:
In a related development, an accountability court in Lahore on Tuesday issued notices to Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz to appear on March 4 in the Ramzan Sugar Mills reference.
NAB on Monday filed Ramzan Sugar Mills reference, accusing Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz for causing loss of Rs213 million to the national exchequer.
“As the chief minister of Punjab, Shehbaz had misused his authority by constructing a 9-10 kilometres drain to facilitate Ramzan Sugar mills under the pretext of people’s well-being,” the reference read.
An inquiry that was carried out in July last year proved that Shehbaz abused his powers to benefit his family members, the accountability watchdog said and added, “We have sufficient evidence against the father and son.”