LAHORE – An accountability court in Lahore acquitted PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif, Ahad Cheema and others in the Ashiana Housing Scheme corruption case.
Accountability Judge Malik Ali Zulqarnain announced the verdict, declaring all the ten suspects in the case innocent.
The other suspects, who have been acquitted, include Fawad Hasan Fawad, Shahid Shafiq, Bilal Qadwai, Imtiaz Haider, Israr Saeed and Arif Butt.
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has filed the graft reference against the former prime minister and others in 2018, accusing them of corruption in the scheme.
NAB Finds No Evidence
Earlier this year, NAB declared Shehbaz Sharif “innocent” in the Ashiana Housing case and added that the contract for the project had no indications of corruption.
The accountability office reported that neither the national coffers nor PM Shehbaz received any financial gain from the initiative.
The anti-graft organisation declared in its study that “it is proved beyond any doubt that the treasury didn’t suffer any loss.”
In addition, it stated: “No evidence of misuse of powers was found against Shahbaz Sharif.”
The NAB assessment found no evidence of malice against the prime minister in the affair, which is expected to cause controversy regarding the watchdog’s objectivity.
According to the study, neither did Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s brother Kamran Kayani, a former army general, hurt the treasury.
The probe also showed that Shehbaz’s secretary for implementation in Punjab at the time, Fawad Hasan Fawad, did not receive a bribe in exchange for the contract.
According to the report, PM Shehbaz followed the rules by reporting the Ashiana case to the anti-corruption agency.
According to the report’s findings, “the accountability court should rule on Shehbaz Sharif’s request for acquittal in accordance with the law.”
Recall that the prime minister was exonerated in two key NAB charges that were brought against him.
The anti-graft watchdog had earlier this month ruled Prime Minister Shehbaz, his son Hamza Shehbaz, and others “innocent” in relation to Rs7 billion in charges made against them for having assets beyond their means and money laundering.
Ashiana Housing Scandal: What Is It?
The Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme was promoted as a low-cost housing programme when it was introduced in 2011.
However, allegations of wrongdoing soon surfaced when unexplained delays in the distribution of completed units and ballots appeared.
After a period of time, some prominent politicians came under criticism in 2018 for alleged corruption and misuse of funds, sparking an investigation by the anti-graft watchdog.
