Ashiana Housing scam: Shehbaz Sharif is found not guilty

LAHORE: A Lahore accountability court has cleared former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and ten other defendants in the Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme reference, according to a Saturday report from a private news channel.

Ahad Cheema, the current federal minister, and Fawad Hassan Fawad were two more suspects that the court found not guilty.

After hearing the last round of arguments from the attorneys and the prosecution from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) about acquittal pleas. Judge Malik Ali Zulqarnain Awan of the accountability court reserved the ruling on November 2.

The acquittal applications argued that all prosecution witnesses. And the approvers had withdrawn their statements, indicating no possibility of conviction in the reference. The applicants urged the court to approve the applications and clear them of the charges.

In a report filed in May. The NAB informed the court that it had found no evidence of financial corruption or misuse of authority by Shehbaz Sharif.

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The report stated that the allegations of misuse of authority and corruption against the former prime minister not substantiated under the National Accountability Ordinance of 1999.

NAB had filed the reference in 2018, alleging that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president. And other accused had caused a massive financial loss to the national kitty by awarding the contract to a construction firm without a competitive bidding process.

In relation to this case. Cheema was detained on February 21 of the same year. And Sharif arrested on October 5, 2018, when he appeared before the accountability bureau in another matter. Later, they were both freed on bond.

Earlier, the court had exonerated Paragon City resident Nadeem Zia and brother of former army leader. Ashfaque Parvez Kiyani Kamran Kiyani for “lack of evidence.”

According to the NAB. Cheema was given illicit advantages by the Paragon City Developers’ owners in exchange for giving their proxy company, Bismillah Engineering, the contract for the housing development.