A special court judge in Lahore, on Wednesday, stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, his son Punjab CM-elect Hamza Shehbaz and others will be framed for the charges in the Rs. 16 billion money laundering case on May 14 where they must ensure their presence as no further adjournments will be made.
“It is made clear that on [the] next date of hearing, charge[s] shall be framed and all the accused shall ensure their personal attendance,” the written order said.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had booked PM Shehbaz and his sons – Hamza and Suleman – in November 2020 under Sections 5(2) and 5(3) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The PM and the two sons were also scheduled to appear under sections 419, 420, 468, 471, 34 and 109 of the PPC and r/w 3/4 of Anti Money Laundering Act.
On January 27, the special court granted pre-arrest bail to Shehbaz and Hamza in the case.
Earlier, on Wednesday, the judge accepted PM Shehbaz’s application seeking exemption from personal appearance before the court because of the cabinet committee’s meeting on various issues.
It is to be noted that this was the second application submitted before the court on behalf of the premier seeking exemption from personal appearance.
The first application was submitted in previous proceedings on a plea that Shehbaz could not come owing to the contest for the PM’s slot.
The court approved PM Shehbaz’s request on Wednesday, but ruled out the possibility of further adjournments in the case, thus summoning all the suspects in person on May 14.
FIA report
According to the FIA report submitted before the court last year, the investigation team had detected 28 Benami accounts of the Shahbaz family through which money laundering of Rs. 16.3bn was committed during 2008-18. The amount was kept in “hidden accounts” and given to Shahbaz in a personal capacity, the report added, saying the FIA examined the money trail of 17,000 credit transactions.