LAHORE: An accountability court on Wednesday extended the judicial remand of Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Hamza Shehbaz till Oct 30 in Ramzan Sugar Mills and assets beyond means cases.
During the proceedings, a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) official requested the court for an extension in Hamza’s remand which was accepted.
Meanwhile, National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif’s plea which sought exemption from the hearing was also approved by the accountability judge.
On June 11, the accountability watchdog had arrested Hamza in the said cases and shifted him to the bureau’s headquarter at Thokar Niaz Baig in Lahore as the Lahore High Court (LHC) had turned down his applications for extension in interim bail.
In the hearing on June 11, the defense counsel had argued that according to the NAB Ordinance, 1999, the bureau could not issue arrest warrants unless an inquiry over the matter was completed. To which, Justice Naqvi had remarked that the judgment would be done according to the constitution, and justice would be ensured.
Moreover, the prosecutor had submitted complete details of assets of Shehbaz Sharif’s family members in the court with an argument that their assets were beyond their known sources of income.
“Billions of rupees were added to the assets of Shehbaz’s family, whereas Hamza couldn’t provide details of the sources of his income,” he added.
The bench was further told by the NAB that in the year 2018, his assets were found to be worth Rs410 million, whereas he could not account for assets worth Rs380 million, adding that the money was laundered to Dubai and England.
40 individuals were involved in the money laundering, the bureau had said.
