Court orders Shahbaz Sharif be vaccinated for coronavirus within two days

• Shahbaz Sharif informs court he applied for a COVID-19 vaccination but no steps had been taken for the purpose.
• Says he will turn 70 this year and getting vaccinated is his right as a citizen.
  
• Court orders vaccination within two days, as well provision of medical reports to him of tests carried out.

LAHORE: An accountability court on Thursday ordered the Home Department authorities to get Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif vaccinated for COVID-19 within two days.

Accountability Court Judge Syed Jawadul Hassan conducted the case proceedings, wherein the jail authorities produced Shahbaz Sharif on expiry of his remand term.

Hamza Shahbaz, also appeared and got his attendance marked.

At the start of proceedings, Shahbaz told the court that a medical board visited him In jail a month ago and his tests were also done, but no reports had been provided to him so far.

Shahbaz informed the court he will turn 70 this year and that getting vaccinated is his right as a citizen.

He also stated that he had given an application, requesting COVID-19 vaccination, but no steps had been taken for the purpose.

At this, the court directed the Punjab chief secretary to provide Shahbaz the said reports and ordered his vaccination within two days.

The court later adjourned further proceedings till March 26, after cross examination of a National Accountability Bureau witness, Deputy Commissioner Inland Revenue Tanveer Hussain.

NAB had nominated 16 persons as accused in the case.

However, only 10 have been indicted yet.

Besides Shahbaz Sharif, Hamza Shahbaz, Javeria Ali, Fazl Dad Abbasi, Rashid Karamat, Muhammad Usman, Masroor Anwar, Nisar Ahmad, Shoaib Qamar, and Qasim Qayyum had been indicted in the case.

However, Suleman Shahbaz, Nusrat Shahbaz, Rabia Imran, Syed Muhammad Tahir Naqvi, Haroon Yousaf Zai and another could not be indicted due to their absence from the court proceedings.

In a reference, comprising 55 volumes, the anti-corruption watchdog had alleged that Shahbaz Sharif family committed massive money laundering — worth Rs7 billion.

Yasir Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmad, Shahid Rafique and Aftab were declared approvers in the reference.