LAHORE: Hamza Shahbaz Sharif was off-loaded from a Doha-bound flight because he was under investigation, claimed minister for law and parliamentary affairs Raja Muhammad Basharat here on Tuesday.

Talking to media outside the Punjab Assembly, he said that Suleman Shahbaz went abroad but did not return. The fear was that Hamza may also not return if allowed to go abroad. That was the reason for placing his name on the exit control list (ECL).

“After all, he has not been arrested so far because the investigation agency thinks that sufficient material against him is still not on record. But he needs to get investigation completed before going abroad. Law is law and it is for everyone,” he said.

The minister did not agree to a questioner that it was PML-N specific accountability. “Zulfi Bukhari and Babar Awan belong to the PTI and both are facing NAB as well. The trouble with the PML-N is that there were such glaring incidences of malpractices that no one can ignore.”

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2018