Gilani meets Shahbaz, discusses Senate polls

LAHORE: An accountability court Wednesday adjourned the hearing of money-laundering and assets beyond means reference against PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif and his family members until March 4 by the duty judge as the judge concerned was not available.

The jail authorities produced Shahbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shahbaz before the court amid tight security as heavy contingents of the law-enforcement agency had cordoned off the court premises. The hearing turned into a political consultation meeting as a large number of PML-N leaders and former premier and PPP leader Yusuf Raza Gilani attended the court proceedings and discussed politics on Senate elections with PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif. The PML-N leaders including Marriyum Aurangzeb, Azam Nazir Tarar, Attaullah Tarar, Saiful Malook Khokhar, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Kh Ahmad Hassan, Ameer Muqam and others attended the hearing. Meanwhile, an accountability court has adjourned the hearing of Ramzan Sugar Mills case against Shahbaz Sharif, Hamza Shahbaz and others for the same date March 4. During the hearing of Ramzan Sugar Mills case, Yusuf Raza Gilani met with Hamza Shahbaz.

Previously, the court had declared PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif’s wife Nusrat Shahbaz a proclaimed offender in this case. The court had also declared Shahbaz’s son Suleman Shahbaz, daughter Rabia Imran and son-in-law Ali Imran Yousaf as proclaimed offenders in reference against Shahbaz family.

The court had started proceeding against Shahbaz family members by declaring them absconders after they didn’t join the investigation and trial proceedings. The court had also declared three other accused as proclaimed offenders in this case including Haroon Yousaf, Tahir Naqvi and Ali Ahmad Khan. In the reference against Shahbaz family, the NAB had claimed that in the last 30 years, Shahbaz family assets increased from Rs2 million to Rs7,000 million that the family had failed to justify.

The NAB alleged accused Shahbaz Sharif in connivance with his co-accused family members, ‘Benamidars’, front men, close associates, employees and moneychangers had developed an organised system of money-laundering for accumulation of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income to the tune of Rs7,328 million.

The NAB had nominated former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, his wife Nusrat Shahbaz, sons Hamza Shahbaz, Suleman Shahbaz, daughters Rabia Imran and Javeria Ali in the reference. Suleman Shahbaz is already a proclaimed offender in this case. The other nominated accused people were: Nisar Ahmad, Syed Muhammad Tahir Naqvi, Ali Muhammad Khan, Qasim Qayyum, Rashid Karamat, Masroor Anwar, Muhammad Usman, Fazal Dad Abbasi, Muhammad Shoaib Qamar and Haroon Yousaf Aziz.

Yusuf Raza Gilani after attending the court proceedings while talking to media said they had always respected the parliament and have always worked for the supremacy of the parliament. He said the PDM is a reality and success of the political alliance will be the triumph of democracy. He said we should forget the past and work in collaboration for supremacy of the parliament.