Shehbaz Sharif questions motive behind freezing family assets in Pakistan

LONDON: Addressing a press conference in London on Wednesday, President of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif lashed out at the government and accountability institutes of Pakistan, ARY News reported.

The leader of the opposition in national assembly said that he was holding the press conference to protest the freezing of his and his families assets in Pakistan.

Claiming that it had reasonable grounds to believe former Punjab chief minister Mian Shehbaz Sharif and his sons Hamza and Salman Shehbaz were involved in ‘offences of corruption and corrupt practices’, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Lahore, yesterday issued orders to freeze immovable assets owned by the three in Lahore, Chiniot, Haripur and Abbottabad.

The politician alleged that the collusion of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the anti-graft watchdog has frozen his and his families assets in spite.

Shehbaz Sharif went on to claim that the government was responsible for the division among the political brass of the country.

“NAB and Imran Khan are hand in gloves, this is becoming increasingly apparent with each passing day, Naeem Bukhari was representing the government in Ashiana Housing references against me and had to back off as the claims against me were frivolous,” said Shehbaz Sharif.

The politicians assets will remain frozen for 15 days, during which NAB will file an application in the relevant accountability court for their confirmation.

The NAB issued six orders, each listing separate properties acquired by Shehbaz, Hamza and Salman — all the three accused are nominated in corruption cases being probed by the NAB.

The cases against the father and sons are those of money laundering and assets beyond known sources of income. According to NAB, it had found that Shehbaz acquired several properties — that have now been frozen — in the name of his wives Nusrat Shehbaz and Tehmina Durrani in Lahore, Abbottabad and Haripur. Hamza and Salman also acquired several properties in Lahore and Chiniot, which have now been frozen by the NAB.

Nearly all the properties highlighted in the orders issued by the NAB are located in residential areas.

It may be pointed out that Shehbaz Sharif and son Salman are in London while Hamza is currently in NAB custody.