Hamza Shahbaz appears before FIA, laments 'false statement attributed to him'

LAHORE: PML-N leader and Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz appeared before the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in connection with its ongoing investigation into alleged money laundering of Rs25 billion through the sugar mills owned by the Sharif family.

He turned up at the agency’s Lahore office to record his statement and submit the relevant documents in pursuance of the FIA notice. He remained inside the office for around 50 minutes.

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In a written reply he submitted to the probe team, Hamza stated that he remained behind the bars for 22 months in a case instituted by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) but the national graft buster failed to prove corruption of even a single penny.

A false statement attributed to him was aired by TV channels following his previous appearance before the FIA, he lamented, recalling that the probe team also quizzed him inside Kot Lakhpat Jail on December 17, 2020 when he gave detailed replies to its questions.

“Why did the FIA think of further investigation after a gap of six months?” the PML-N leader asked. He said the NAB probed his assets but couldn’t find any irregularity.

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I have declared all assets before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), he said, adding the NAB could not also prove charges of power abuse.

He further said that the government’s confusion is evident from the FIA case as the relevant federal minister gave statements in this regard on various occasions.

“The FIA investigation is of political nature,” Hamza Shahbaz claimed.