– Court says no concrete evidence against the father-son duo
-PTI terms the acquittal as a slap in nation’s face-Says country’s major criminals acquitted
From Abid Usman
LAHORE: Special Central Court on Wednesday acquitted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son and former Punjab CM Hamza Shehbaz Sharif in money laundering case. Special Central Court judge Ijaz Awan read out the reserved verdict.
It may be noted that in November 2020, FIA had booked Shehbaz Sharif and his sons Hamza Shehbaz and Sulaiman Shehbaz under Sections 419, 420, 468, 471, 34 and 109 of the Anti-Corruption Act and Section 3/4 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act. Sulaiman Shehbaz is in the UK and had been declared a fugitive.
14 other persons had also been named in this FIR under Section 5 (2) and 5 (3) (criminal misconduct) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Shahbaz Sharif is accused of helping his sons Hamza Shahbaz and Sulaiman Shahbaz to accumulate wealth from their unknown sources of income.
On December 13, 2021, the FIA submitted a money laundering challan of Rs 16 billion against Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz and other accused in the banking court and named Days as the main accused.
The challan of 7 volumes submitted by FIA consists of more than 4 thousand pages in which a list of 100 witnesses was also submitted and it was said that 100 witnesses will appear against the accused.
It was stated in the challan that the investigation team traced 28 benami bank accounts which were created from 2008 to 2018 in the names of Shahbaz Sharif family servants, clerks in various banks in Lahore and Chiniot.
According to FIA, it analyzed the money trail of more than 17,000 credit transactions of Rs16 billion rupees in 28 benami accounts and huge amount of money was hidden in these accounts which are completely unrelated to the sugar business. which was offered to Shahbaz Sharif in a personal capacity.
It was stated in the challan that earlier Shehbaz Sharif (Chief Minister of Punjab 1998) was directly involved in money laundering of more than $5 million, he arranged overseas remittances (fake TT) to a Bahraini lady Sadiqa Syed. The name was done with the help of the then Federal Minister Ishaq Dar.
The FIA had said that this challan makes Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz and Sulaiman Shehbaz the main accused while 14 benami account holders and 6 facilitators are made co-accused on the basis of the crime of aiding and abetting. It was stated in the challan that both Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz had held public positions from 2008 to 2018.
Reacting to the development, PTI on Wednesday termed the development a “slap in the nation’s face by the judicial system”.
Commenting on the special court’s decision, PTI Chairman Imran Khan told a gathering in Sharaqpur that PM Shehbaz and Hamza’s acquittal has covered up their theft worth billions of rupees.
In a tweet, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said that the allegedly laundered “Rs24 billion have been passed over for the father-son duo”.
“On one hand, [they] are seeking funds for flood victims. On the other hand, one family has looted billions of rupees,” Fawad said, adding that the laundered money belonged to the people of Pakistan.
Taking a jibe at the court’s decision, another PTI leader Maleeka Bokhari tweeted that the “country’s major criminals” and “convicted thieves” have been “respectfully acquitted” Wednesday.
While PTI’s Parliamentary Leader in Sindh Khurrum Sher Zaman stated that he was not surprised at the acquittal of PM Shehbaz and Hamza.
“The prosecution’s strings are in the hands of the imported government. We could foresee their purpose of coming into power,” he tweeted, adding that the resignation of the Federal Investigation Agency’s Director General and the absence of a witness is the actual sign of favouritism.
The former governor of Sindh, Imran Ismail said, “There can only be concern over the speedy acquittal of the Sharif family in various cases. Common prisoners should also have this facility. Both the families have dragged the country on the back foot.”
PTI leader Usman Dar said, “The acquittal of Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz in an open and shut case like money laundering is not a breaking news. Imran Khan’s struggle is against the system where the institutions are being destroyed.”
Another PTI leader, Farrukh Habib, expressed his views and termed the acquittal as ‘NRO 2’. He said, “Shehbaz and Hamza, who looted Rs16billion in the name of employees of Ramzan Sugar Mills, have been acquitted in the case”. Farrukh also asked the people to stand against the corrupt system.
Senator Shibli Faraz reacted to the acquittal of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz by referring to the poetry of the famous poet, Ahmed Faraz.
Apart from this, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Siraj-ul-Haq also expressed reservations about the acquittal and said that the nation wants real accountability.
