NAB Clears PM Shehbaz Of Corruption Charges In Ashiana Housing Case

The investigation report also says that there is no evidence that Fawad Hasan Fawad, who was the Secretary Implementation to the then-Punjab chief minister Shehbaz at the time, received any bribes for awarding the contract.

LAHORE: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point Newa-May 20th, 2023) The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) announced on Saturday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the Ashiana Housing case. The bureau stated that no evidence of corruption was found regarding the project's contract and there was no financial gain for PM Shehbaz.

According to the accountability bureau's report, no losses were incurred by the national treasury, and there was no indication of PM Shehbaz misusing his powers. The report emphasized that Shahbaz Sharif was not involved in any malicious activities related to the scandal, raising concerns about the impartiality of the corruption watchdog.

The report also confirmed that Kamran Kayani, brother of former army chief General (retd) Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, did not cause any harm to the treasury.

Additionally, the investigation found no evidence that Fawad Hasan Fawad, who was the Secretary Implementation to the then-Punjab chief minister Shehbaz at the time, received any bribes for awarding the contract.

The report highlighted that PM Shehbaz had adhered to the law by referring the Ashiana case to the anti-corruption watchdog. It recommended that the accountability court make a decision on Shehbaz Sharif's plea for acquittal in accordance with the law.

This marks the second significant NAB case in which the prime minister has been declared innocent. Earlier this month, the anti-graft watchdog cleared Prime Minister Shehbaz, his son Hamza Shehbaz, and others of charges amounting to Rs7 billion related to assets beyond means and money laundering.