LAHORE: An accountability court on Thursday acquitted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz in a money laundering and illegal assets reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Presiding judge Qamaruz Zaman exonerated the two, allowing their acquittal applications filed under Section 265-K of the CrPC. Detailed verdict would be issued later.

Soon after the decision was announced, PM Shehbaz tweeted, “Alhamdulillah, the accountability court of Lahore today acquitted me and Hamza Shehbaz in a false and baseless case of money laundering based on political revenge”.

He pointed out that these were the same allegations wherein the UK’s National Crime Agency investigated the 40-year record in three countries for two years and gave his family a clean chit.

He said that UK’s Daily Mail had published a false article about the embezzlement of foreign aid, but God bestowed victory upon them and the publication had to tender an apology.

The prime minister recalled that he was twice wrongfully arrested by the NAB, adding that his son Hamza endured prolonged captivity and had been denied access to doctors even during the Covid-19 pandemic. Hamza was not even allowed to visit his innocent ailing daughter, he added.

The premier said there was no compensation for the ‘WhatsApp’ accountability, the worst media trial and the unjustified imprisonment.

PM Shehbaz and Hamza, a former chief minister, through their counsel pleaded that the NAB had filed a politically motivated and baseless reference against them.

They said all of their assets were legal and had already been declared in their tax documents regularly filed with the Federal Board of Revenue. They contended that the NAB had failed to produce any evidence against them. They urged the court to allow their applications and acquit them.

The judge also acquitted the PM’s daughter Javeria Ali. However, he issued perpetual arrest warrants for the premier’s another daughter Rabia Imran as she had been declared a proclaimed offender for not joining the trial proceedings.

The acquittal applications of seven co-suspects were also allowed. They are Mohammad Usman, Masroor Anwar, Shoaib Qamar, Qasim Qayum, Rashid Karamat, Ali Ahmad and Nisar Ahmad.

In May, the NAB filed a supplementary reference in the trial court, saying it had found no evidence of corruption or money laundering against PM Shehbaz and his family members.

According to the reference, a fresh investigation was conducted into the allegations in light of new amendments introduced in the National Accountability Ordinance 1999. It said the investigation concluded that no offence under the NAB law was made out.

The NAB had alleged that family members and benamidars of PM Shehbaz had received fake foreign remittances worth billions of rupees in their personal bank accounts. In addition, the bureau said, billions were laundered by way of foreign pay orders, which were deposited in personal bank accounts of the PM’s sons Hamza and Suleman.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2023