Acquittal of PM Shehbaz, Hamza on the cards in money laundering case

Staff Reporter
LAHORE: The Lahore Special Court (Central) on Saturday noted a lack of evidence and testimony proving the involvement of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shahbaz in the money laundering case.
The arguments on the acquittal plea in the money laundering case filed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and prime minister Shehbaz Sharif were concluded during the hearing today.
The judge asked the prosecutor about the evidence and testimonies in the case, in response, he told the court that they do have testimonies of other suspects but do not have any evidence that directly incriminates PM Shehbaz and his son
He also scheduled a hearing on Hamza’s acquittal plea on October 11.
Amjad Pervaiz, the legal counsel of the suspects, further pointed out that the Supreme Court (SC) has a ruling that if the evidence is not found against the accused, the trial court can acquit the respondents.
Since there is no proof that the malicious accounts or transactions were connected to the PML-N leaders, they should be acquitted, he implored the court.
The court asked the FIA about the evidence submitted regarding the case, on which the legal counsel representing the FIA said they only have statements from Aslam and Gulzar.
“Did anyone name Shehbaz Sharif?” the judge asked the prosecutor, to which the latter conceded that no one did. He further added that the testimonies also lack nomination of Hamza Shahbaz in the case.
The judge asked the prosecutor to submit the same in writing for the case record.
The FIA’s legal counsel told the judge that he is speaking with respect to evidence submitted in the case before the change of government. It is worth noting that Premier Shehbaz Sharif appeared in person before the court on September 30 for the hearing of the case in the Lahore Special Court and pleaded ‘not guilty’. His counsel contested that the case falls under the ambit of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and not the FIA. He also highlighted that both his clients were not nominated in the first information report of the sugar scam case. In December last year, the FIA submitted a challan against the two PML-N leaders before the court for their alleged involvement in laundering an amount of Rs16 billion in the sugar scam case.