The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday dismissed a petition filed by Hamza Shehbaz, the son of Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif, seeking acquittal in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case.
The agency asked the court to dismiss Hamza’s plea, claiming that no clause in the NAB’s modified law granted any relief to individuals found guilty of abusing their authority.
According to NAB’s counsel, it was clear that the modified ordinance was not enacted with the intention of allowing those who abused their power a pass. “The National Anti-Corruption Bureau was founded to combat corruption,” the lawyer explained.
He also dismissed the petitioner’s objection to the court’s jurisdiction, claiming that it was unfounded.
“It is clearly evident that Hamza is guilty from any viewpoint that the matter is looked at,” he claimed.
On the same day, the court indicted Ahmad Ali, a co-accused in the case.
The matter was subsequently deferred until January 10th by the court.
Later, in a press conference, Shehbaz Sharif emphasised that the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan was worsening by the day.
“It was the Islamic world’s obligation to support their Afghan compatriots in these trying times,” he declared.
He told the reporters outside an accountability court (AC) in Lahore that the situation in the neighbouring countries was “horrible,” with people begging for a bit of bread.
“And now the situation has deteriorated to the point where even medicines are in limited supply throughout the country,” he said, adding that such a dismal state of affairs has never existed in the country’s history.
