Shehbaz skips NAB appearance over back injury

PML-N president’s answers to questionnaire submitted to graft-buster

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif did not appear before National Accountability Bureau (NAB) interrogators on Friday because of a back injury. However, his counsel submitted his answers to NAB’s questionnaire to the graft-buster.

The anti-corruption watchdog had summoned the former Punjab chief minister to question him about the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) scam and possessing assets beyond known sources of income.

Shehbaz, who is also the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, had suffered a back injury while he was attending an Independence Day ceremony and was advised by doctors on August 20 to rest for 10 days.

Shehbaz was neither able to attend the joint opposition’s all parties conference, nor meet his incarcerated brother former prime minister Nawaz Sharif because of his injury.

In May this year, NAB arrested LWMC general manager Tahir Maqbool. He is accused of receiving illegal benefits owing to his position in the company.

Maqbool worked as the general manager of the procurement and contracts department. He also worked as an LWMC consultant on waste management in Rawalpindi. He allegedly embezzled millions of rupees from the funds released for LWMC projects. NAB said initial investigation suggested that he had misappropriated Around Rs1 billion. Using fraudulent means, he transferred millions of rupees that caused a loss to national exchequer.

He also, without the approval of board of directors, awarded contracts to a company named Albayrak.

Sugar mill case

Making matters worse for the Sharif family, NAB has decided to freeze the bank accounts and assets of PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz and her cousin Yousaf Abbas Sharif in connection with the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.

The graft-buster will soon write a letter to the banks for freezing their accounts. It will also write to the Lahore Development Authority, the Board of Revenue, the Excise and Taxation Department and other authorities to prevent Maryam and Yousaf from transferring their properties.

Earlier this month, NAB arrested Maryam at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail where she was visiting her incarcerated father, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

According to an official statement issued by NAB, Maryam and her cousin Yousaf Abbas Sharif were taken into custody in connection with the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case. The government has accused the Sharif family of using Chaudhry Sugar Mills for money laundering and availing millions of rupees in subsidy without actually exporting sugar.