On Monday, a special anti-corruption court issued a notice to the prosecution about a request from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz, asking to be acquitted in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case.
During the trial, the defence lawyer, Amjad Pervez, argued that there was no evidence to support the corruption claims against them, making a conviction unlikely. He requested that the court grant their acquittal. The judge, Sardar Iqbal Dogar, adjourned the hearing until January 6 and ordered the prosecution to submit its response to the acquittal requests.
Shehbaz Sharif was represented by his lawyer, Anwaar Hussain, while Hamza did not attend due to a back injury. His legal team requested an exemption for this hearing.
In October, the accountability court transferred the case to the anti-corruption court because of changes in the National Accountability Ordinance 1999. The NAB (National Accountability Bureau) cannot prosecute cases involving less than Rs500 million, and the amount in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case was Rs213 million.
The NAB’s case, filed in 2018, accused Shehbaz Sharif, as chief minister, and his son Hamza of misusing authority and causing a loss of Rs213 million to the national treasury. The case centers around a directive Shehbaz issued for a drain to be built for Ramzan Sugar Mills, which is owned by his sons.
In a separate matter, Prosecutor General (PG) of Punjab Syed Farhad Ali Shah took notice of two cases of sexual assault and torture of women in Lahore. In the first case, he criticized the investigation of a woman tortured by her in-laws and ordered the officer to properly collect evidence and complete the investigation.
In the second case, a woman was sexually assaulted under the pretense of a job offer. The PG questioned why the victim’s statement had not been recorded and instructed the district public prosecutor to challenge the magistrate’s decision. He also emphasized providing the victim with full legal support.
