Hamza Shahbaz gets another NAB summon

Opposition leader says he cannot trust current LHC bench

LAHORE: National Accountability Bureau Lahore (NAB) has once again summoned Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader in a case accusing him of accumulating assets beyond his known means of income.

The anti-graft body asked him to appear before a combined investigations team (CIT) at 9 am at its Thokar Niaz Beg complex. It also asked him to bring the relevant records with himself. Hamza has appeared before the NAB team in the past for the same case, but was unable to satisfy the bureau.

The case against Hamza and his family was initiated when Shahbaz Sharif, after his arrest in the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme scam, submitted a statement before NAB and said Salman Shahbaz was looking after financial matters. NAB formed a committee to investigate the matter further.

During investigations, NAB’s Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) observed hefty transactions from the Sharif family members’ accounts. The bureau also found evidence of money-laundering.



NAB raided the PML-N leader’s house twice, but was unable to arrest him due to the stiff resistance of guards and activists. Later, the Lahore High Court restrained law enforcement agencies from arrest the politician.

Hamza distrusts LHC bench

Meanwhile, Hamza said he did not trust the a two-member bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) which was hearing three different cases against him which were being probed by NAB.

As the two-judge bench, headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, started proceedings into the Ramzan Sugar Mills, Saaf Paani project and assets beyond known means of income cases against Hamza Shehbaz Sharif, his lawyers Azam Nazir Tarar and Salman Butt did not appear before the court.

Advocate Tarar was busy at the Supreme Court of Pakistan, while Butt was out of the country. Hamza’s third lawyer, Advocate Amjad Pervez, was called to the courtroom for arguments.

Hamza and his lawyer could be seen whispering to each other and this prompted the bench to ask if the opposition leader had something to say.

The PML-N leader replied in the affirmative and said he respected the courts, which was the reason he left his newborn daughter in critical condition at a London hospital and came to Pakistan. He expressed strong concerns over NAB, adding the bureau’s chairman, during his interview, revealed his intention to form a bench which would cancel the pre-arrest bail grated to him.

He said DG NAB had been talking against his father Shehbaz Sharif on TV talk shows and the whole nation was listening. He pointed out that such a statement would raise questions over the formation of any bench hearing cases against him. Hamza made it clear that under such circumstances, he could not completely trust the LHC bench.

The opposition leader declared he did not fear arrest as he had faced several cases in the past, even during the time of military dictator Pervez Musharraf.

Finally, the judges decided not to hear the cases and sent the files to the Lahore High Court chief justice who would form a fresh bench for the matter.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 29^th, 2019.