A Pakistani court has extended the pre-arrest bail of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shahbaz till May 28 in a money laundering case of Rs 14 billion.
Pakistan PM Shahbaz Sharif said that the cases against him are part of a witch-hunt by the previous government (PTI Photo).
A Pakistani court in Lahore on Saturday extended the pre-arrest bail of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and his son and Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz till May 28, while the arrest for their second son Shahbaz Suleman in a Rs 14 billion money laundering case. Warrant issued.
Shahbaz appeared before the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) special court in Lahore for the first time when he took charge of the top post. In the last two hearings, he had sought exemption from appearance.
A court official told PTI, “The special court’s presiding judge Ejaz Awan turned down the request of Shehbaz and Hamza’s counsel to confirm the bail. However, he adjourned their pre-arrest bail till May 28 for the next hearing. extended.”
The judge allowed Shahbaz to speak on his case.
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Shahbaz said that Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has investigated the matter. He and his family members accused of money laundering For two years but not even a single rupee of corruption was found.
“All cases against me are political,” he said, adding that he served as chief minister in Punjab province for 10 years, but never took a salary.
“My salary would be Rs 1 crore, but I didn’t take it. I even went on official tours with my own money. I saved the country billions of rupees in development projects,” he said.
The Prime Minister further said that the cases against him are part of a witch-hunt by the previous government led by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Shahbaz and his sons Hamza and Suleman were booked by the FIA in November 2020 under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Anti-Money Laundering Act. Suleiman has been in Britain for the last three years and is evading arrest.
The FIA investigation has reportedly unearthed 28 benami accounts of the Shahbaz family, through which an amount of Rs 14 billion was laundered from 2008 to 2018.
The FIA investigated the money trail of 17,000 credit transactions and the amounts were kept in “hidden accounts” and allegedly given to Shahbaz in his personal capacity.