LAHORE: An accountability court on Friday summoned Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif and his son, Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz, for their indictment in a supplementary reference of Ramzan Sugar Mills.

The court had previously allowed permanent exemption from personal appearance to Mr Shahbaz till further orders. Mr Hamza is in judicial custody, however, a jail official told the court that the suspect was not produced due to safety measures against coronavirus.

Presiding Judge Amjad Nazir Chaudhry observed that the case was being adjourned for long for framing of charges due to non-production of the suspect.

He directed the jail superintendent and headquarters superintendent of police (SP) to ensure production of Hamza on the next date of hearing, without fail.

“In case of non-compliance, strict legal action shall be initiated against the delinquents,” the judge warned the jail officials.

The judge also directed Mr Shahbaz to appear in person for the indictment. The hearing was adjourned till June 11.

In April 2019, both suspects were indicted in the main reference and they had pleaded not guilty before the court.

The National Accountability Bureau alleged that Mr Shahbaz, being the Punjab chief minister, had approved construction of a drain in Chiniot with Rs360 million only to benefit Ramzan Sugar Mills owned by his sons Hamza and Salman.

It said public funds were misused for the benefit of family business of the suspects. Shahbaz and Hamza have been granted bail in this case, while Salman escaped abroad.

WARRANTS: An accountability court on Friday issued arrest warrants for a co-suspect in Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme case.

The court directed the SP headquarters to produce Shahid Mehmood on June 1 without fail.

Earlier, the jail officials stated that former Lahore Development Authority director general Ahad Khan Cheema, who is in judicial custody, could not be produced due to coronavirus safety measures.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2020