Sharif brothers discuss political situation

Former PM expresses concern over Shehbaz’s medical reports

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday met his brother Shehbaz Sharif at the Ministers’ Enclave in Islamabad and discussed the political situation in the country.

According to details, both the PML-N leaders also discussed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) cases. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president took Nawaz into confidence over contacting opposition parties.

Sources said Nawaz expressed his concerns over a medical report of Shehbaz in which cancer was detected.

NAB had allowed Nawaz to meet the former Punjab chief minister at his official residence in the Ministers’ Enclave, which has been designated as a sub-jail during his transit remand.

NAB had arrested Shehbaz, who is also the opposition leader in the National Assembly, in the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme scam on October 5. The former CM was charged with awarding illegal contracts to his favourite firm.

He was apprehended during his appearance before NAB in the Saaf Pani Company scam. Sources told that three files were tabled before him. The bureau quizzed Shehbaz regarding a tender awarded to a private consultancy company for a survey of the Saaf Pani Company.

The PML-N president had failed to satisfy the probing team of the bureau during the investigation and was ultimately arrested. The anti-graft watchdog had claimed that the company did not conduct any kind of survey but nevertheless was provided a lucrative sum of Rs1.5 billion.

Former PM Nawaz’s principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad became an approver in the case. Fawad, in his statement before NAB, had claimed that he had awarded a contract to a “favourite firm” in the Rs14 billion Ashiana Housing project at the behest of Shehbaz.

The anti-graft agency said that the contract for the housing scheme was won by a construction company titled Chaudhry Latif and Sons but Shehbaz cancelled it and later on awarded the contract to Lahore Casa Developers – a proxy group of Paragon City (Pvt) Limited, which is said to be owned by former railways minister Saad Rafique. (With input from DNA)