Staff Reporter
Lahore
An accountability court in Lahore will now indict PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shahbaz in the Ramzan Sugar Mills reference on August 6. Hamza and Shehbaz, the then Punjab chief minister, have been accused of making a drain in Chiniot which benefitted the mill.
Shehbaz submitted a request for exemption from hearing as he is in self-isolation after contracting the novel coronavirus. Judge Amjad Nazir remarked that Shehbaz is neither admitted in a hospital nor is he on a ventilator. He just has to come to the court and sign a document so that the trial can start.
Amjad Pervaiz, who was representing Shehbaz, said that his client is 69 years old and quite sick and the virus has been spreading everywhere.
His doctor examined him on June 27 and advised him to rest. Pervaiz assured the judge that Shehbaz will appear in court at the next hearing.
NAB prosecutor Waris Janjua said that Shehbaz hasn’t appeared in court since November 12, 2019. He didn’t even come when the court ordered him to do so, he argued. The court also heard the money laundering case against Hamza and extended his judicial remand till July 15.
The court asked if a reference is going to be filed in this case. The prosecutor said that they are investigating Shehbaz Sharif and will file a reference after that.
