Accountability court approves 14-day physical remand of Hamza Shehbaz

LAHORE: An accountability court on Wednesday granted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) 14-day physical remand of Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz.

Hamza who was arrested by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday after the Lahore High Court rejected his interim bail in the Ramzan Sugar Mills and money laundering cases was presented by the accountability watchdog team earlier today.

NAB had requested for 15-day physical remand of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)  leader.

The court has ordered Hamza to be presented before the court on June 26. 

Strict security measures had been put in place with roads leading up to the accountability court closed off. 

A day earlier, a two-member bench comprising Justice Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Shahid Waheed Khan heard petitions of the PML-N leader as he appeared before the LHC following the expiration of his interim bail.

During the hearing, NAB’s Additional Prosecutor General Jahanzeb Bharwana told the court that Hamza’s assets were not according to his income and that the PML-N leader and his family are involved in money laundering.

The court after hearing NAB’s arguments rejected Hamza's plea for an extension for his interim bail. 

Hamza, along with his father Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif were indicted in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case on April 9.

In February, NAB had filed a reference against the two alleging that the former chief minister of Punjab misused his authority by using public funds for the construction of a bridge to facilitate the Ramzan mills, owned by his sons.