Former PM Shahbaz Sharif faces big setback from NAB
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In Lahore, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has reopened the Ramzan Sugar Mills case against PML-N president and former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, as well as other corruption references.
This move follows the anti-corruption watchdog's decision to return 116 corruption references, including the Paragon case against the Khawaja brothers, to accountability courts in Lahore.
Additionally, records related to the Chiniot Mines case and Punjab University corruption case were submitted to the courts. Other reopened cases encompass a range of issues, such as corruption within the Gujrat police, irregularities in the Punjab Youth Festival, and a corruption case involving Yousuf Ahad, the son of former PML-N leader Ahmed Malik, along with references related to housing societies, the stock market, fraud, and misuse of power by government officers.
Furthermore, it has been reported that the NAB is likely to reopen cases against PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif and former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in light of a Supreme Court verdict. These cases include the Ramzan sugar mill case against Shehbaz Sharif and the plot allotment case against Nawaz Sharif.
The NAB is also expected to revisit cases involving other prominent political figures and bureaucracy, including Rana Mashhood, former VC Punjab University Mujahid Kamran, former federal minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq and Salman Rafiq in the Paragon Housing Society case, and the misuse of powers case against the ex- Speaker of the Punjab assembly, Sabtain Khan.
This development comes after the Supreme Court invalidated certain sections of amendments made to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) last year, ordering the restoration of corruption cases against public representatives.
In a 2-1 majority verdict, the top court approved Imran Khan's petition challenging these amendments, which means that several high-profile cases will once again be heard in the accountability courts. These cases involve figures from various political parties, including PML-N Supremo Nawaz Sharif, PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, and former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. This legal battle began in June 2022 when the former premier challenged amendments to the NAB ordinance.
