Hamza Shahbaz leaves for London on private visit

LAHORE: Former Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shahbaz has left for London on a private visit where he would also meet his uncle and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, ARY NEWS reported.

Hamza Shahbaz left for London via private airline, days after he was removed as chief minister of the Punjab province through a Supreme Court’s order.

Hamza Shahbaz will meet Nawaz Sharif and his other family members and will also brief the former regarding political happenings in the Punjab province.

Hamza Shahbaz’s travel to London came in the backdrop of a special central court’s decision to indict Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz in a money laundering case filed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on September 07.

The court summoned all suspects in the case including Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz on September 07 for indictment proceedings.

During the hearing today, Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza filed pleas for exemption from today’s hearing with the latter citing a backache while the former said that he was busy in Islamabad with regard to official affairs and could not reach on time due to bad weather conditions as his doctors have advised against traveling by road.

The FIA prosecutor also did not oppose the exemption plea, resulting in court accepting their pleas.

Moreover, FIA prosecutor submitted details of bank accounts and assets owned by Suleman Shahbaz and the death certificate of a suspect, Malik Maqsood aka Maqsood ‘Chaprasi’.

Shehbaz and his family are facing charges of money laundering of billions of rupees using accounts of their sugar mills and employees, according to the FIA.