Shehbaz Sharif presented before accountability court in Lahore

LAHORE:(Net News/ Media 92 News) Former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has been in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Ashiana Housing scheme case, was presented before an accountability court on Monday.

The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president was brought to court amid tight security.

Shehbaz was arrested on October 5 in the Ashiana Iqbal Housing Scheme case after he appeared before NAB in the Saaf Pani case. On October 6, an accountability court in Lahore had granted the anti-graft body a 10-day physical remand of Shehbaz. The PML-N president’s remand was then extended on October 16 by 14 days.

The PML-N president’s physical remand ends tomorrow, however, he is being presented in the accountability court today as October 30 is a holiday.

NAB officials blackmail me: Shehbaz
During the hearing, Shehbaz presented arguments in his defense himself.

"I have been implicated in false cases,” Shehbaz told the accountability court. "NAB officials blackmail me,” he added.

The PML-N president further said, "I have blood cancer and they won’t even allow me to get my check-up done.”

Stating that he "served the province,” Shehbaz upheld, "If this is a crime then I will continue doing it. God’s court is the biggest.”

The leader of the opposition in NA regretted, "I am not even allowed to meet my family.”

Ashiana Iqbal Housing Scheme case
Last month, Shehbaz Sharif was summoned by NAB in the Ashiana Housing case while former Lahore Development Authority chairman Ahad Cheema is on judicial remand after having been arrested over the case.

In July, the accountability bureau arrested senior bureaucrat Fawad Hassan Fawad in various corruption cases, including the Ashiana Iqbal Housing Scheme case.

Sources revealed that Shehbaz had been summoned in the case after revelations made by Fawad during interrogation.

According to NAB officials, Fawad wrongfully awarded the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme’s contract to ‘favourites’, illegally ordered the shifting of nine CNG stations and also worked in a private bank from 2005 to 2006 without official permission.

Moreover, while being the provincial health secretary, Fawad acquired six mobile health units which were purchased at a higher-than-market rate, a NAB spokesperson said.

Fawad has served as former PM Nawaz Sharif’s principal secretary and is considered close to the former premier. He was removed from the post of principal secretary on June 1 this year and was appointed director general of Civil Services Academy, Lahore.

The accused bureaucrat was also being probed by NAB for possession of assets beyond known sources of income.

According to NAB, the contract for the housing scheme was won by a construction company titled Chaudhry Latif and Sons.

However, NAB says then Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his aides awarded the Rs14 billion contract to Lahore Casa Developers — a proxy group of Paragon City (Pvt) Limited, which is said to be owned by Railways Minister Saad Rafique.

Fawad, who was implementation secretary to the chief minister Punjab at the time, levelled charges of wrongdoings against Chaudhry Latif and Sons in order for the contract to be awarded to Casa Developers.