Publish dateSaturday 6 October 2018 - 13:11
Story Code : 172111
Shahbaz Sharif Arrested In Rs14 Billion Housing Scam
Former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif was on Friday arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Lahore in connection with the Rs14 billion Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme case, the bureau said in a statement.
According to Dawn news, Shahbaz, the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, has been accused of corruption in the Ashiana Housing scheme case. He will appear before an accountability court for remand on Saturday.  
 
Dawn news stated the PML-N president will appear before Judge Syed Najmul Hassan amidst tight security. NAB will request a 14-day remand of Shahbaz, NAB prosecutor Waris Ali Janjua told DawnNewsTV.
 
Lawyer Amjad Pervez will represent Shahbaz before the court.
 
A heavy contingent of Rangers has been posted outside NAB Lahore, where supporters of the PML-N had started gathering, DawnNewsTV reported.
 
Groups of PML-N supporters protested against the arrest in Lahore on Friday night. 
 
Meanwhile, PML-N' s members of the National Assembly have submitted a letter to the NA speaker, requestioning a session of the lower house to discuss the opposition leader's arrest. The requisition was accompanied by the signatures of 90 MNAs.
 
PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif condemned the arrest of his younger brother, saying it was "not just regrettable, but also ridiculous".
 
"Everyone knows that the PTI government is behind this worse kind of revenge," he claimed, according to his party.
 
Nawaz said the PTI government should remain prepared to face the same kind of treatment tomorrow "that they mete out to their opponents today".
 
"The government shouldn't put the burden of its incompetence on Shahbaz Sharif," the elder Sharif said.
 
Dawn news reported he said as chief minister Punjab, Shahbaz had set a grand example of service and honesty. His services had been acknowledged by the Pakistani people, foreign governments and international institutions, Nawaz claimed.
 
'Not even a single penny's loss'
 
PML-N leader and Shahbaz's son, Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, lashed out at the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government over his father's arrest, claiming that it was part of Imran Khan's effort to save his government after the October 14 by-elections.
 
Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Hamza accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of colluding with NAB to have opposition leaders arrested so his party could avoid defeat in the by-polls thus month. 
 
He claimed that the national exchequer had not suffered the loss of "even a single penny" in the case in which Shahbaz was arrested today.
 
He accused the prime minister of going on a witch-hunt against the Sharif family, saying Khan could not hide his "government formed through rigging" behind these arrests. 
Source : Afghan Voice Agency(AVA)
https://avapress.com/vdccsiqss2bqms8.-ya2.html
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