Shehbaz Sharif skips NAB hearing due to coronavirus

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif skipped National Accountability Bureau (NAB) hearing on Friday due to coronavirus situation in the country.

According to PML-N’s spokesperson Attaullah Tarar, Sharif is a cancer survivor and his health does not permit him to appear before the corruption watchdog amid the current situation of coronavirus.

The anti-graft body had summoned the PML-N leader in a money laundering case on today and had asked him to submit bank details along with the loan taken from Barclays bank between 2005 to 2007.

“A complete detail of your foreign assets along with the year of acquisition/disposal and source of personal/bank loans along with details of loan repayment and current outstanding loan should be provided,” reads the questionnaire sent to Shehbaz Sharif.

In response to the summons, Tarar maintained that Sharif has submitted his written reply to NAB in this regard, adding that the opposition leader was earlier detained for 130 days out of which he spent 61 days under NAB custody where he was interrogated in detail.

Last year in December, NAB had issued orders to freeze 23 properties belonging to the former Punjab chief minister and his sons Hamza and Suleman Shehbaz over the allegation that they acquired assets beyond their known sources of income and committed money laundering.

According to the accountability bureau, an investigation against Shehbaz, Hamza, Suleman and others for the offence of "corruption and corrupt practices" had revealed that Shehbaz had acquired properties in the name of his wives Nusrat Shahbaz Sharif and Tehmina Durrani.

Among the properties frozen are nine plots in Lahore's Johar Town, four in Judicial Colony, two houses in Model Town and as many houses in DHA.

Furthermore, the bureau has also frozen a cottage and a villa in Pir Sohawa and two more plots in Chiniot.