LAHORE: An accountability court on Monday granted permanent exemption to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif from personal appearance in the Ramzan Sugar Mills reference after he along with his counsel appeared before it.

The premier, while requesting Judge Sajid Ali Awan to allow his application for the exemption, said he had never sought such exemption unnecessarily. “Since Allah has given me the responsibility of serving the nation, I have to discharge my responsibilities,” he said, while undertaking to appear whenever the court required him.

About the reference, he said the National Accoun­tability Bureau (NAB) had accused him of misusing public money as CM for the construction of a drain in Chiniot though it was built on the requisition of an MPA from the area only after cabinet’s approval.

Mr Shehbaz also presented a booklet to the judge containing details of development projects executed in the province during his stint as chief minister. He also gave the booklet to a NAB prosecutor as the latter told the judge that he did not have the same.

The prosecutor, however, opposed his application, arguing that the applicant did not provide any concrete reason while there had been no progress in the trial proceedings of the reference.

The judge reserved the verdict but after a while allowed the exemption.

On the same application, the court adjourned the hearing of the Ashiana-i-Iqbal housing scheme reference till July 5.

The anti-graft watchdog had arrested Mr Sharif on Oct 5, 2018 in the sugar mills reference over four months before the Lahore High Court (LHC) granted him bail. The LHC in its order observed that prima facie, allegations about gratification, corrupt practice, abuse of authority, kickbacks and commission required further probe as at that stage cogent evidence was unavailable.

The NAB alleged that Mr Sharif being Punjab CM and his son Hamza with the abetment and connivance of each other caused a loss to the national exchequer of Rs213 million by misusing his authority. It added that Mr Sharif had issued a directive for the drain construction in Chiniot, primarily for the use of the sugar mills owned by his sons, Hamza and Suleman.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2022