Shehbaz Sharif handed over to NAB on 14-day physical remand

LAHORE: A Lahore accountability court on Tuesday granted 14-day physical remand of PML-N President and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif.

The court directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to present him before it on October 13.

A team of the national graft buster presented him before the court amid tight security. The NAB prosecutor requested the court to grant physical remand of the PML-N leader for further investigation into the assets beyond means and money laundering case against him.

The prosecutor stated before the court that the bureau needs Shehbaz’s custody for interrogation about important matters. He added the accused refused to answer the questions put to him yesterday and quoted him as saying that he has told them all he had to tell.

On Monday, the NAB arrested Shehbaz after the Lahore High Court (LHC) denied him further extension in his interim bail. A NAB team arrested him from the courtroom and took him to the NAB Lahore headquarters amid tight security.

A large number of PML-N supporters who were present on the court premises to show solidarity with their party leader chanted slogans against the NAB and the government and clashed with the police.

A two-judge bench comprising Justice Sardar Ahmed Naeem and Justice Farooq Haider dismissed the petition as withdrawn.

An investigation into money laundering charges against Shehbaz and members of his family revealed that Shehbaz Sharif’s assets increased from Rs14.86mn to Rs7328mn in the past 20 years, according to NAB.

The PML-N leader had declared assets worth Rs2.12 million in 1990 which increased to Rs14.8 million in 1998 and reached Rs7328 million in 2018. The sources said that Shehbaz Sharif formed 13 new Benami companies under the banner of Sharif Group of Companies and laundered Rs2400 million through these flimsy companies.