–Shehbaz Sharif and family have 14 days to file objections against freezing order
LAHORE: An accountability court on Wednesday ordered freezing of assets belonging to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and nine members of his family.
Accountability Judge Chaudhry Ameer Muhammad Khan passed the instructions during the hearing.
“Investigation against Shehbaz Sharif and his family are underway with regards to assets beyond income case and money laundering,” said special prosecutor of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Hafiz Asadullah Awan in the court.
Awan added that “Shehbaz has made properties worth billions through money laundering. Therefore, assets of Shehbaz, his wives and his sons should be confiscated”.
The decision comes a week after NAB Lahore Director General Shahzad Saleem froze 23 properties of Shehbaz, his sons and other family members in the income beyond means and money laundering case under Section 12 of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.
The NAB orders were to remain in place for 15 days, during which NAB filed an application in the accountability court for their confirmation.
In his detailed judgement, Judge Khan noted that the accused persons in the case have been accused of retaining assets beyond their ostensible means and the proportion of their wealth from 2003 to 2018 prima facie “is not proportionate to the known sources of the accused which has not been explained by the accused”.
“At this stage, even the provisions of the protection of Economic Reforms Act, 1992, would not be helpful to the accused party unless the sources of the said payments [are] disclosed by them,” the judgement states.
It says the NAB freezing orders against the Shehbaz family are also supported by the statements given by approvers namely Muhammad Mushtaq alias Cheeni, Yasir Mushtaq, Shahid Rafique and Aftab Mehmood.
While confirming the freezing orders, the court has stated that the Shehbaz family members have 14 days to file objections against the orders.
According to NAB, the frozen properties include two houses in Model Town and Nishat Lodges in Dounga Gali, Murree which were acquired by Shehbaz in the name of his wife Nusrat Shehbaz.
A cottage, a villa and a plot in Haripur and two houses in Defence Lahore were acquired by Shehbaz in the name of his other wife, Tehmina Durrani.
Land measuring over 390 kanal in Chiniot is in the name of Hamza Shehbaz and Suleman Shehbaz. Nine plots measuring five marla each in Jauhar Town and an over five-kanal house in Judicial Colony Lahore are in Hamza’s name.
Shehbaz has been on bail in Ramzan Sugar Mills and Ashiyana Housing cases, while Hamza is on judicial remand in the income beyond means, money laundering and Ramzan Sugar Mills cases. Suleman is absconding and presently resides in the UK.
