Court rejects plea to adjourn case against Shehbaz, Hamza

LAHORE: Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz appeared before an accountability court on Monday as it resumed hearing into the Ramzan Sugar Mills case.

As the hearing got underway, a lawyer informed the accountability judge that Shehbaz’s counsel is busy in the Supreme Court and requested him to adjourn the case for now.

He further requested the court to provide a copy of the reference against the PML-N leaders on the next hearing and direct the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to submit original documents with regard to the case.

Turning down his request, the judge said he won’t allow the plea for adjournment as lawyers representing other accused were present in the court.

Over the course of the hearing, there was also a heated exchange of words between the judge and counsel over the former’s refusal to adjourn the hearing.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed a reference against Shehbaz and his son – leaders of the opposition in the National and Punjab assemblies, respectively – naming them as the primary accused in the scam.

NAB officials said Shehbaz, being chief minister of Punjab, misused his authority by issuing directives for the construction of a 10 kilometer long drain in Chiniot district primarily to benefit the sugar mills his son owned.

Shehbaz and Hamza have been accused of fraudulently causing a Rs213 million loss to the national exchequer.

Earlier on Feb 18, an accountability court indicted Shehbaz Sharif and other accused in the Ashiana Iqbal Housing scandal. However, they pleaded not guilty and opted to contest the charges against them.

It is pertinent to mention here that Shehbaz Sharif was granted bail last month in Ashiana Housing and Ramzan Sugar mills scandals by the Lahore High Court (LHC).