Sharifs acquitted in Ittefaq Foundries loan case

RAWALPINDI: The judge of the Accountability Court, Rawalpindi, Sohail Nasir, on Thursday acquitted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and their other family members in the Ittefaq Foundries reference.
The reference had been filed against the Sharifs during the Musharraf period in 2001.Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif, Abbas Sharif, their father Mian Sharif, Kamal Hussain and Mukhtar Hussain had been nominated in the reference.
Rejecting the National Accountability Bureau’s request to reopen the investigations into the case, the court acquitted all the accused as the matter has been settled with the National Bank of Pakistan. The judge stated the case against the foundry was based on political revenge and that there was now no dispute between the Sharifs and the bank.
According to the reference, on December 10, 1999, the NBP, Wapda House, Lahore, zonal chief and manager sent a complaint to the NAB chairman against the Sharif family. He said since 1994, the foundry had been defaulting on a Rs 1,063,162,937 loan. Later, the bank said the foundry had paid back the loan.