Money-Laundering Case: How Court Relief Helped Tainted Shehbaz Sharif Become Pak PM

Lahore: An accountability court on Monday deferred indictment of Shehbaz Sharif in a money-laundering case until April 27, thus paving the way for the under-scanner Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president to become the country’s 23rd Prime Minister.

Shehbaz, his son Hamza Shehbaz and the family are facing charges of laundering billions of rupees using accounts operated in the name of their businesses and employees, according to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf members boycotted the PM election, with the ousted PM saying he will never sit in parliament with “thieves.”

The Special court, chaired by judge Ijaz Hassan Awan, said the suspects should be produced in order to frame charges, Pakistan Today reported.

Amjad Pervaiz, the counsel of Shehbaz and PML-N leaders, requested the interim bail awarded to Sharif and his son be extended.

“We should first analyse if the evidence submitted by the agency (in the case) could be used for indictment or not,” he said. “I am also going to perform Umrah so please extend the bail for a longer period.”

Pervaiz was asked to submit the request in writing, before the application was approved.

FIA has contended that family members and benamidars of Shehbaz’s family received fake foreign remittances of billions in their personal bank accounts. The agency also said that billions of rupees were laundered by way of foreign pay orders, which were deposited in personal bank accounts of Shenbaz’s sons Hamza and Suleman Shehbaz.

The family of Shehbaz, FIA said, failed to justify the sources of funds used for acquisition of assets.