Court extends Hamza Shehbaz's remand till November 28

LAHORE: An accountability court on Tuesday extended judicial remand of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) stalwart, Hamza Shehbaz Sharif, till November 28, in assets beyond means and Ramzan Sugar Mills case, ARY News reported.

Hamza Shehbaz Sharif was presented before the court of Judge Jawad-ul-Hassan under tight security.

The Opposition Leader in National Assembly, Shehbaz Sharif skipped today’s court appearance. At the outset of the hearing, the court asked, where is Shehbaz Sharif?.

Shehbaz Sharif is currently in Islamabad due to an ongoing session of the National Assembly, his counsel replied and pleaded the court to grant a day’s exemption from court appearance to his client.

The plea was accepted by the court.

Earlier on October 30, the judicial remand of the PML-N leader was extended for 14 days.

Prosecutor for the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was inquired from by the court regarding a formal reference against the politician.

The prosecutor replied that the reference was in delay and required signatures and approval from the chairman NAB.

The NAB has filed a reference accusing former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, his son Hamza Shahbaz and others for causing losses to the national exchequer and misusing authority by sanctioning construction of a bridge to facilitate the sugar mills.

According to the NAB officials Shehbaz Sharif, being chief minister of Punjab, misused his authority by issuing directives for the construction of a 10-kilometer-long drain in Chiniot primarily to benefit the sugar mills owned by his sons. Shehbaz and Hamza have been accused of fraudulently causing a Rs 213 million loss to the national exchequer.