–Hamza claims NAB formed corruption cases to ‘humiliate’ him
LAHORE: An accountability court on Friday rejected the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) request for an extension in the physical remand of the Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Hamza Shahbaz in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case.
However, the PML-N leader will remain in the custody of the accountability watchdog as he is on physical remand till July 10 in a money laundering case.
NAB arrested Hamza Shehbaz on June 11 after the Lahore High Court (LHC) dismissed his bail petitions in the Saaf Pani Company, Ramzan Sugar Mills and money laundering cases.
While rejecting bureau’s request for an extension in physical remand in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case on Friday, the court sent him on judicial remand and ordered that the PML-N leader be produced again on July 20.
During his stay in the courtroom for the hearing, Hamza also met his father, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif.
During the proceedings, Waris Ali Janjua, a NAB prosecutor, told the court that Hamza didn’t cooperate during the investigation and various other suspects in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case failed to appear before the bureau.
When accountability court judge Naeem Arshad inquired the bureau that why do they seek further physical remand of the PML-N leader, the prosecutor explained that two main suspects, in this case, had not appeared before the bureau and due to that case is stalled at the moment.
The legal counsel of Hamza questioned the bureau’s request of elongated physical remand and said that it is beyond understanding that why the need for a physical remand has arisen when a reference had already been filed in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case.
During the proceedings, Hamza labelled Ramzan Sugar Mills a fake and a baseless case.
“God is a witness, NAB is making a fake case and is humiliating me,” he said.
Outside the courtroom, Hamza told media-persons that the PTI government tried its best to find anything against Rana Sanaullah and when they couldn’t, a drug case was made. “Rana Sanaullah’s family is my family,” he said.
