Shehbaz Sharif Indicted In Ashiana Housing Scam

Mahnoor Sheikh (@mahnoorsheikh03) Published February 18, 2019 | 12:33 PM

Shehbaz Sharif was taken in the custody of NAB on October 5 for his alleged involvement in Rs 14 billion Ashiana Housing Scheme scam.

Islamabad (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 18th February, 2019) Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif has been indicted in the Ashiana Housing scam.

A hearing on Ashiana Housing case was held in the Accountability Court in Lahore by Judge Syed Najamul Hassan on Monday.

The leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and other suspects appeared before the court.

Judge Hassan framed charges against Shehbaz and 9 other suspects, including former principal secretary to prime minister Fawad Hassan Fawad. The opposition leader and the other suspects rejected the charges and decided to contest the allegations.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had on February 12 filed a supplementary reference against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) President and the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif in the Ashiana Housing scam case.

Reportedly, the reference accused 13 influential persons including Shahbaz Sharif, Ahad Cheema, Fawad Hassan Fawad, Ahad Khan Cheema Shahid Shafiq, Bilal Kudwai and Imtiaz Haider.

The reference mentioned that Sharif had visited the site of the project in March, 2014, and later in October issued illegal directives.

The reference further stated that Sharif had ordered to halt the bidding process of Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC), whereas the PLDC had been working on the project since December 2013.

Sharif has been accused of deciding on his own of transferring the project into the Public Partnership Model.

Shehbaz Sharif was taken in the custody of NAB on October 5 for his alleged involvement in Rs 14 billion Ashiana Housing Scheme scam.

Later, he was sent to jail on judicial remand.

Senior bureaucrat Fawad Hassan Fawad and Lahore Development Authority (LDA) former director general Ahad Cheema and others had been arrested in connection with the housing scam.

NAB launched an investigation into the scam in November last after receiving a number of complaints.