From Abid Usman
LAHORE: An accountability court on Wednesday indicted PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, his son Hamza Shehbaz and other accused in a money laundering case.
The court read out charges to the accused, who denied the charges and opted to contest them. Jail authorities produced the father-son duo before the court as it resumed hearing.
Pleading innocence, Shehbaz, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, stated that the case instituted by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is based on mala fide intentions.
He said higher courts raised questions over the bureau’s actions, accusing the national graft buster of being involved in “political engineering”. “Not a shred of evidence against us has been produced,” he maintained.
The PML-N leader also complained of a backache, lamenting that he has not yet been provided a physiotherapist. “I was taken to hospital yesterday just because the hearing is fixed today,” he said. “I asked for an ambulance to take me to hospital but instead was taken in an armoured personnel vehicle.” Hamza, the Punjab Assembly’s opposition leader, assailed the NAB terming the charges baseless. The hearing was adjourned until November 26 when the court will start recording statements of witnesses.
