Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday told a special court central seized with the hearing of Rs16 billion money laundering case that all the allegations levelled against him and his family members were baseless and fake.
“We have compromised our politics for the sake of the country,” said PM Shehbaz after seeking permission from the Special Court Central Judge Ijaz Hassan Awan during the hearing of the money laundering case. The PM told the judge that he appeared before the court in compliance with its orders and asked the court to allow him to leave because he had important meetings and engagements in Islamabad.
Shehbaz Sharif said the fake cases were registered against him as being chief minister of Punjab he took such decisions which hurt his family’s business. He stated that he refused to approve the summary to provide subsidy to the sugar mills. “I saved public money by simply refusing the summary,” said the PM while defending his position and his family members in the case. He also told the court that now they were entrusted with a big responsibility and made tough decisions to save the country from default.
“My leader [Nawaz Sharif] and I compromised on our politics for the sake of the state,” said the PM, pointing out that his government put sugar export, because there would have been a sugar crisis in the country. “Every single dollar counts and I did not allow export for the sake of the public,” said PM Shehbaz. He said he did not want to make any political statement but many delegations of sugar mills came to him but he handled the situation amid tough conditions.
He said he would allow export as soon as the mills started working in the next month. “What I am saying is true. After God, the decision is yours. I remembered God in the difficult times about what I should do,” he told the judge, adding that he tried to provide relief to the public and left the court.
Earlier, as the proceedings commenced, PM appeared before the court after his counsel Advocate Amjad Pervaiz while former Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz could not turn up before the court due to some health issues. The judge asked about the absence of both father and son to which the counsel said that the premier was on his way to the court and would appear before it very soon. About Hamza Shehbaz, the counsel said he had been suffering from health issues.
At this, the judge observed that Hamza Shehbaz should have appeared before the court on a wheel-chair. On it, the counsel submitted medical documents before the court and said that he was not well. The court granted him one-day exemption from personal appearance before it on the medical grounds. Arguing on the case, Advocate Amjad Pervaiz submitted that the case registered against his client PM Shehbaz was politically motivated. He said that no one had recorded any statement against PM Shehbaz and that he also did not receive any cheque.
“The allegations levelled against PM Shehbaz by the FIA are there in its challan,” argued the counsel, pointing out contradictions in the claims of the agency and its challan submitted before the court. “I won the case of Maryam Nawaz yesterday. It was a white-collar crime case and this case, I will also convince the court,” said Advocate Pervaiz, mentioning his triumph in the avenfield case against Maryam Nawaz and her husband Captain retired Muhammad Safdar.
The PM’s counsel said that the case could not be built on the offense mentioned in the FIR registered by the FIA, arguing that the complainant [the FIA] had accepted a transaction of over Rs3 billion but it had nothing to do with his client. He also pointed out that there was also no mention of accounts of Rs2 billion and Rs800 million in the challan submitted before the court. Suleman Shehbaz, the counsel said, had his own business and he would submit his reply before the court but despite that he was not his counsel, the case against him also did not meet the merit.
Advocate Pervaiz said that FIA had also mentioned “Hundi Hawala” in its challan that was submitted during the previous government of PTIA. He asked the court that during Imran Khan’s tenure, his advisors and right-hand men had been guiding the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) over how to trap the Sharif family, following which the judge asked about the role of Mushtaq Cheeni in the affair. The counsel informed the court that Mushtaq was an employee of the company and he looked after all the affairs. Mushtaq had been forced to give a statement against Shehbaz. He also implored the court that Suleman Shehbaz is independent of his business.
“Does Suleman Shehbaz not have business ties with his father Shehbaz Sharif and brother Hamza Shehbaz Sharif,” the judge asked. He further contended that the politicians had influenced the FIR and the sections were inserted, content of which pointed out that all accounts had been opened merely for transactions of Suleman Shehbaz Sharif. He also argued that those employees who had been working on lower wages had not been told that these accounts had been opened under Shehbaz’s directions.
After hearing the arguments on the complaint of PM and his sons seeking acquittal in the case, Justice Awan sought further arguments and put off further hearing till Oct 8. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) registered a case against Shehbaz Sharif and his sons Hamza Shehbaz and Suleman Shehbaz in November 2020 under sections 419, 420, 468, 471, 34 and 109 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and r/w 3/4 of Anti Money Laundering Act. The FIA in December 2021 had submitted the challan against Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz over their alleged involvement in the Rs16 billion money laundering case.
