SHAHBAZ REMAND EXTENDED
Second extension given to NAB in Ashiana case
ISLAMABAD: An accountability court in Lahore on Monday granted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) an extension in the physical remand of Shahbaz Sharif in the Ashiana Housing Scheme case.
Shahbaz is president of Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-N) and leader of opposition in the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, the NAB said that the SCHEDULED ISLAMABAD LIGHT It Booked For Shahbaz to take part in the National Assembly session was cancelled. Later, it decided to bring him to the federal capital by road.
The court extended Shahbaz’s remand until Nov.7 while announcing its verdict on NAB’S request for a 15-day custody.
This is the second extension given to NAB since Shahbaz was first remanded for 10 days on Oct.6. The court had earlier extended the remand by 14 days on Oct.16.
Shahbaz was produced before an accountability court of Lahore for a hearing of the case amid tight security. The NAB claimed that it has not yet completed its investigation.
Shahbaz — who presented his arguments himself — rejected the allegations and stated that it had been 25 days since his arrest, yet NAB is unable to present any proof against him. He refuted all charges against him and said that he had answered all of NAB’S queries several times.
“I feel sad that NAB has levelled false allegations against me,” he said and dismissed NAB’S claim that his order for a public-private partnership in the project was illegal.
He said that the meeting in which he had directed one Sheikh Alauddin to start working on the scheme as soon as possible was on record.
After Shahbaz concluded his arguments, his lawyer Amjad Pervez said that the case against his client was based on “assumptions” and added that the report prepared by NAB did not mention that he was involved in corruption.
He told the court that NAB had not allowed his client to meet his newborn grandson, neither has the anti-corruption body allowed him to get a diabetes test.
Strict security measures were taken prior to the opposition leader’s arrival in the court.
Containers were placed to block the road leading to the building and all routes to the court were blocked as well. Police contingents were deployed along the route and outside the court building. POLICE AND RANGERS oficials were Also posted inside the court premises.
PML-N supporters, lawyers — apart from legal counsel of Shahbaz and NAB — and media personnel were refused entry in the courtroom, which led to verbal confrontation between lawyers, party workers and police.
NAB prosecutor Waris Ali Janjua, after submitting a report of the investigation so far, told the court that the agency has prepared a feasibility report that strengthened its case.
He claimed that the feasibility report prepared for the housing scheme by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) was based on “falsehood.”
He said that the national exchequer had suffered a loss of millions of rupees due to Shahbaz’s “illegal steps.”
‘SILENT MARTIAL LAW’
Meanwhile, National Party (NP) president Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo has claimed that Pakistan is now in the grip of a “silent martial law” that is stricter than the three previous military rules.
Speaking at the inaugural session of a NP’S convention, he said his party had never tried to receive the establishment’s support for winning an election.
He also rejected the perception that the NP won seats in the 2013 elections without any such assistance.