Pakistan: No Evidence Of Corruption Found Against PM Shehbaz In Money Laundering Case, Says Court

Federal Investigation Agency has accused PM Shehbaz and his son Hamza for their involvement in corruption case worth Rs 16 billion.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif

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New Delhi: In a latest hearing against the Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shahbaz, the Lahore Special Court on Monday  said ‘no evidence of corruption, misuse of authority, and bribery’ was so far found on record against them in the Rs 16 billion money laundering case. The court noted that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had “mala fide” intentions for arresting Sharif and his son, chief minister Punjab Hamza Shahbaz, reported Geo News, according to the news agency ANI report.

In the order, the court said that the FIA started investigating Hamza and PM Shehbaz when they were already in the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) custody. Both father and son were interrogated twice — on December 18, 2022, and January 8, 2021.

 “This shows that the prosecution wanted to arrest them again after their release, which shows its mal intent,” the special court’s order said.

What are the allegations against father and son?

PM Shehbaz and his son Hamza have been accused of their involvement in corruption case worth Rs 16 billion. In a written order for confirming their pre-arrest bail, the court said the FIA wanted to arrest PM Shehbaz and CM Hamza after they secured bails in the NAB’s cases.

The special court had granted them pre-arrest bail last week.

The order read, “…allegation about gratification, corrupt practice, abuse of official authority, kickbacks, and commission requires further probe during the trial as at this stage cogent evidence is not available.”

The order stated that the investigation is completed in the case and the charge sheet has also been submitted. Hence the arrests are not required, said the special court explaining its decision to grant the petitioners bail.

The order went on to mention that the statements of the 64 people recorded in the case , who had deposited the amounts , relate to Rs 60.7 million and not Rs 16 billion as claimed by the FIA. It added that in the statements of the 64 depositors, none mentioned the names of the prime minister and the chief minister. “Moreover, said statements do not spell out any bribery, kickbacks, or commission, etc.”