Shahbaz Sharif is the younger brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on three occasions
Lahore:
Pakistani opposition leader and PML-N leader Shahbaz Sharif was remanded in 14-day pre-trial detention on Tuesday by a court charged with liability for beyond means and a money laundering case , a day after his arrest by the National Accountability Office (NAB). in Lahore.
Shahbaz, the younger brother of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was arrested on Monday at the premises of the Lahore High Court after the court rejected his request for bail in the money laundering case silver of Rs 700 crore (41.9 million USD).
The 69-year-old former chief minister of Punjab province was brought before Judge Jawad-ul-Hasan in the tribunal of responsibility on Tuesday.
Shahbaz asked the court to allow him to present arguments in his defense instead of his lawyer. The court authorized it.
He denied any wrongdoing and said the link between Prime Minister Imran Khan and the NAB had derided responsibility in the country and that they only targeted opposition leaders.
“The money laundering charges against me are baseless. I don’t do business. My parents had worked hard to start a business in the country and passed it on to my children,” he said.
He said that being the chief minister of Punjab province, his decisions caused a loss of millions of rupees to the businesses of his older brother Nawaz and his son (Shahbaz) Hamza in order to benefit the public.
Following the arguments, the judge granted NAB’s request for 14-day pre-trial detention against Shahbaz and ordered that he be presented to court again on October 13.
The court ordered Shahbaz’s performance report to be part of this case.
Shahbaz’s arrest comes just ahead of protests planned next month by his party – the Pakistani Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) – to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Khan.
Imran Khan’s government last week filed a money laundering case against Shahbaz, who served as chief minister of Punjab province from 2008 to 2018, and his family.
The anti-graft body claimed that the assets of Shahbaz’s family have increased from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 700 crore over the past 30 years, which they have failed to justify.
Nawaz, who has been in London since November 2019 after obtaining medical bail in the Al-Azizia Mills corruption case in which he was sentenced to seven years, has reacted strongly to his brother’s arrest.
In a tweet, Nawaz said: “This puppet government has approved the resolution passed by the opposition [multi-party conference].
“Shahbaz Sharif had already said all [MPC’s] decisions would be enforced whether in prison or outside. No one should be mistaken that such shameful tactics will cause us to bow down. “
“Shahbaz’s arrest is unjustifiable and unacceptable. Imran Khan’s regime has broken all records of injustice, but we will not be intimidated by such tactics,” he said.
PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz sharply criticized the arrest of her uncle and chairman of the Shahbaz party, saying he was “punished” for standing by his brother Sharif.
“Make no mistake about it. Shahbaz Sharif was arrested ONLY because he REFUSED to play in the hands of those who wanted to use it against his brother (Nawaz Sharif). He preferred to stand behind prison bars rather than to stand against his brother Shahbaz Sharif, aap ko SALAM (sic), ”she tweeted.
Pakistani People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also condemned Shahbaz’s arrest, saying Prime Minister Khan was worried after opposition parties launched an alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement, to oust his government .
The opposition predicted a strong government response following Sharif’s attack on the military at the multi-party conference more than a week ago.
While addressing the conference via a video link from London, Sharif spoke about the military’s involvement in politics, saying that in the country “there is a state above the state”.
The mighty army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 70-plus years of existence, has so far wielded considerable power in security and foreign policy.
The opposition is planning new arrests. The NAB has already issued a notice of appeal to JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who is also leading the opposition’s joint campaign against the government in the case of income beyond means.
The main Pakistani opposition parties have demanded the “immediate” resignation of Prime Minister Khan and planned protests across the country next month to overthrow his government.
