Shehbaz, others indicted in Ashiana-e-Iqbal case

All accused plead not guilty, with the opposition leader terming the charges frivolous

LAHORE: An accountability court on Monday formally framed charges against Shehbaz Sharif and others in the Ashiana-e-Iqbal scam case as another reference was lodged elsewhere against the National Assembly opposition leader and his son Hamza Shahbaz in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case.

In addition to Shahbaz, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had named former principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad, Nadeem Zia, ex-army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kiyani’s brother Kamran Kiyani, Munir Zia, Khalid Hussain, Ali Sajid, Shahid Chaudhry, Ahad Khan Cheema, Bilal Kidwai, Shahid Shafique, Imtiaz Haider, Israr Saeed and Arif Butt in the Ashiana-e-Iqbal reference.

All but two of them – Nadeem Zia and Kamran Kiyani, who are proclaimed offenders in the case – were indicted formally on Monday.



The accountability court began proceedings by asking Shahbaz and the other accused if they accepted the allegations against them. All of them refused to accept the charges, with the opposition leader terming them frivolous. Shahbaz claimed that he had served as a protector of the nation’s wealth. He also informed the court that he was seriously ill and in severe pain while appearing before the court.

The defence counsel urged the court to delay the indictment by a week but the request was turned down. After hearing all sides in the case, the court framed charges against the accused and summoned the prosecution witness on March 4.

As the prime accused in the Ashiana-e-Iqbal case, Shahbaz faces allegations of misusing his authority and conniving with then Lahore Development Agency (LDA) director-general Ahad Khan Cheema to award the housing scheme contract to a favoured firm instead of the successful bidder. The NA opposition leader is also accused of bypassing the powers of the Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC) board of directors to transfer the project from PLDC to LDA.



NAB claims Shahbaz’s actions in this regard cost the state exchequer Rs660 million and inflated the cost of the project by Rs3.39 billion. Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Project was started as a housing project to provide houses to people on subsidized rates. The project was modeled on public-private partnership basis. However, the project could not be initiated despite the passage of many years and the spending of millions of rupees.

Meanwhile, NAB filed a reference in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case nominating Shahbaz and his son Hamza as prime suspects. Hamza is accused of using public money to construct a drain for the mills in question. Shahbaz is accused of approving the use of Rs210 million for this purpose while serving as the chief minister of Punjab.