Shahbaz Sharif arrested by anti- graft body in Rs 1,400cr housing scam
Sharif is accused of awarding illegal contracts in 1,400 crore housing project
Lahore, Oct. 5: Pakistan’s Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif was arrested by the country’s anti- graft body on Friday for his alleged involvement in a ` 1,400 crore housing scam, the latest setback to the embattled Sharif family.
Mr Shehbaz, 67, is the younger brother of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who is facing corruption charges in three cases.
“Shahbaz Sharif on Friday appeared before an investigation team of the National Accountability Bureau Lahore. He was arrested after he failed to satisfy the investigator for his alleged role in awarding contracts to his favourite firm in violations of rules in the Ashiana Housing scheme and Punjab Saaf Pani Company,” NAB spokesperson Nawazish Ali Asim told PTI.
Mr Shehbaz, president of the Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz ( PML- N), will be presented before an accountability court for a physical remand on Saturday, he said. He will be kept in a highly- secured lock- up inside the NAB Lahore office until his appearance in court.
He was detained by NAB officials and his car was sent away. His private staff who accompanied him as security were also asked to leave, the Dawn newspaper reported. A heavy contingent of Rangers has been posted outside NAB Lahore, it said.
Supporters of the PML- N have started gathering outside the bureau’s office. The arrest comes a little over a week ahead of the by- polls scheduled for October 14. Mr Shahbaz, a former chief minister of Punjab province, was allegedly involved in the corruption of Rs 14 billion Ashiana Housing project and Rs 4 billion Punjab Saaf Pani Company scams.
This Saaf Pani Company was established by Shahbaz’s previous Punjab government to conceive, plan, design, execute and manage projects for the provision of safe drinking water.