After Imran Shehbaz, Hamza seek relief under NAB law tweaks

ISLAMABAD: After incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan sought relief under amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 recently restored by the Supreme Court, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz on Wednesday demanded retransfer of Ramazan Sugar Mills reference to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The apex court, on September 6, accepted intra-court appeals filed against the September 15, 2023, majority judgement striking down the amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance.

Approving the intra-court appeals filed by the federal and provincial governments, the top court remarked Imran could not prove that NAB amendments were unconstitutional.

During Wednesday’s hearing, the father-son duo’s counsel argued that the reference against their clients was ‘inadmissible’ after the Supreme Court verdict and that the “accountability court lacks jurisdiction to proceed in the case”.

In response to the argument, the judge asked the lawyers to file an application for the transfer of sugar mills reference to the anti-graft body. The court added the hearing on the application will be conducted on October 1.

Meanwhile, it also accepted Hamza Shehbaz’s plea for an exemption from personal appearance.

On February 18, 2019, NAB filed a reference against Hamza and Shehbaz, alleging that the former Punjab chief minister had misused his authority to get a 10-km sludge carrier constructed in district Chiniot to facilitate the Ramzan Sugar Mills owned by his sons.

The anti-corruption bureau had alleged that the ‘project’ had inflicted a loss of Rs213 million to the national exchequer.

The reference was reopened in November 2023 after the amendments — introduced by the coalition government of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) — were struck down.

Earlier, Imran also sought acquittal from the £190 million case under the NAB amendments — which he had challenged. The deposed prime minister’s lawyer told the accountability court in Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail that the case was no longer valid after the verdict as all the cabinet decisions are protected in NAB amendments.