Shehbaz arrested in Ashiana housing scam

The NAB has prepared a charge sheet against Shehbaz Sharif in Rs14b Ashiana Housing Scheme scandal. He will be charge sheeted today (Saturday) during the preliminary hearing in accountability court.

According to the charge sheet Shehbaz has been accused of alleged Rs5b corruption in the purchase of land for Ashiana Housing Scheme.Rs3b were obtained from banks as development fund. Shehbaz extorted Rs850m, while the projected development scheme was illegally awarded to a private company, and embezzled billions of rupees.

Copy of the charge sheet obtained from sources reads that huge amounts were extorted from poor people under the guise of allotment of plots, but were notgiven allotment letter.

Shahbaz started the housing scheme in six cities of Punjab – Lahore, Chiniot, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Kasur and Sargodha – land worth billions of rupees was purchased and large amounts were embezzled.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Friday arrested Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif in the Ashiana Housing scheme scam.

According to details, the PML-N president appeared for a routine hearing of the Saaf Pani case when the NAB officials arrested him in connection with the housing scam. The Saaf Pani Company case is another financial scandal plaguing the PML-N leadership.

Shehbaz is being blamed for giving illegal contracts in the housing scheme. He will be presented before an accountability court on Saturday (today), the NAB sources said.

Following the arrest, a large contingent of police and Rangers were deployed outside the accountability bureau in Lahore.

“NAB Lahore has arrested former chief minister of Punjab Shehbaz Sharif in Ashiana case. NAB will produce the former chief minister of Punjab in the honourable accountability court tomorrow (Saturday),” a statement from the agency said.

A NAB spokesman Nawazish Ali initially said the arrest was linked to a separate long-running case involving alleged corruption in a water purification project, but he later said it was related to the housing scheme case.

Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister and brother of Shehbaz, has denounced corruption cases against him and his party’s leaders as politically motivated, and both brothers deny any wrongdoing.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said, “The process of accountability will continue. There is zero-tolerance policy against corruption.”

Earlier, the anti-graft watchdog arrested Nawaz Sharif’s former secretary and close aide Fawad Hassan Fawad on charges of corruption in the Ashiana scam and three other projects. He was regarded as the most powerful bureaucrat in the last PML-N government.

Lahore Development Authority (LDA) former chief Ahad Khan Cheema is already under custody in connection with the housing project scandal. The probe into which extends to former chief minister Punjab.

The former prime minister was arrested 10 days before the July 25 election, won by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

The Sharifs’ Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz came in second place in the election. Their party, along with all other major opposition parties, denounced the polls as rigged.

By-elections to fill 11 parliamentary seats and 19 provincial assembly seats are scheduled for Oct. 14. Those seats remain empty because of court-ordered delays and the ability to lead candidates to run in several constituencies at once but only represent one.

The outcome of the by-elections could affect the slim majority of Khan’s coalition government holds in parliament, though many of the constituencies are considered strongholds of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

The contests are considered to be closer in the provincial assemblies and could result in the PML-N winning back control of Punjab.

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