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PM Shehbaz, Hamza acquitted in Rs16bn money laundering case

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  • FIA still insists that case should proceed against PM Shehbaz, Hamza.
  • However, court says FIA failed to produce “concrete evidence”.
  • FIA submitted challan against Hamza, PM Shehbaz in December 2021.

LAHORE: The Special Court, Central, Wednesday acquitted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shahbaz in the Rs16 billion money laundering case lodged against them by the Federal Investigation Agency.

The court announced its judgment in the mega money laundering case against the Shehbaz family after the FIA prosecutor informed the court that no money was directly deposited in the accounts of the father-son duo.

The father-son duo — who were summoned today — did not appear before the court as their counsel filed a request for exemption as PM Shehbaz had official engagements and Hamza was not well.

The court acquitted the prime minister and his son after the FIA — last week — had cleared the PML-N leaders on the charges of laundering Rs16 billion as there was “no direct evidence” against the father-son duo.

During today’s hearing, FIA prosecutor Farooq Bajwa opposed acquitting the suspects, saying that Hamza is allegedly involved in another Rs25 billion money laundering case.

“We want this case to proceed. The case should go on till the suspects have been indicted,” the prosecutor urged.

However, Special Court Judge Ejaz Awan noted that the FIA has failed to produce “concrete evidence” in the challan submitted before the court against the suspects. Following this, the court acquitted the suspects. 

In the previous hearing on Tuesday, the judge asked about the number of bank accounts owned by the Malik Maqsood — also known as Maqsood Chaprasi.

The FIA prosecutor Farooq Bajwa responded that late Maqsood had eight bank accounts to his name.

The prosecutor further stated that no money was either directly deposited or withdrawn from the accounts of the suspects, including Shehbaz and Hamza.

The judge asked what evidence was there to substantiate that the entire money dealing was being done at Hamza’s behest.

In response, FIA’s prosecutor said the agency does not have “any evidence” linking him to money laundering.

‘Fake, baseless, based on political vengeance’

After the verdict’s announcement, the prime minister thanked God for his acquittal and termed the case against him “fake, baseless, and based on political vengeance”.

“No matter how much I thank God enough for this, it won’t be enough,” he said in a tweet.

PM Shehbaz said that “despite the worst practices, use of state force, and holding institutions hostage,” he still triumphed.

In a statement, the former chief minister said the verdict marks the victory of “truth, righteousness, and honesty”.

“In this politically motivated case, I was kept behind bars for almost 22 months, but despite that, we fought the case vigorously,” Hamza said.

“The nation’s money was wasted, and the reputation of institutions was also damaged due to the cases lodged on Imran Khan’s directions,” the PML-N leader said.

Hamza said that before Pakistani courts, the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency also gave a clean chit to PM Shehbaz.

“The actual money launderer is Imran Niazi, who received funds through a ‘tea boy’. He is a certified foreign-funded [politician], who will now have to face the courts,” he added.

Felicitating PM Shehbaz and Hamza, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Ata Tarar said that with this verdict the “narrative of vindictive accountability of the Imran-era has been buried.”

“Where is [Khan’s former aide on accountability] Shahzad Akbar?” he questioned during a press conference.

PML-N MPA Hina Pervaiz Butt said another case “proved to be just a political vendetta against the Sharif family”.

“No amount of lies can stop the naked flood of Truth. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz stand vindicated […] Remember Sharifs can’t be intimidated and can’t be bowed down,” she added.

The case

In December 2021, the FIA had submitted the challan against Shehbaz and Hamza before the special court for their alleged involvement in laundering an amount of Rs16 billion in the sugar scam case.

According to the FIA report submitted to the court, the investigation team has “detected 28 benami accounts of the Shehbaz family through which money laundering of Rs16.3bn was committed during 2008-18. The FIA examined the money trail of 17,000 credit transactions.”

The report added that the amount was kept in “hidden accounts” and given to Shehbaz in a personal capacity.

This amount (Rs16 billion) has nothing to do with the sugar business (of the Shehbaz family), it claimed. 

The money received from the accounts of low-wage employees by Shehbaz was transferred outside Pakistan via hundi/hawala networks, ultimately destined for the beneficial use of his family members, the FIA had alleged.

“Eleven low-paid employees of the Sharif group who ‘held and possessed’ the laundered proceeds on behalf of the principal accused, are found guilty of facilitating money laundering,” the agency had said.

“The three other co-accused of the Sharif group also actively facilitated the money laundering,” it had added.

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“Nawaz Sharif Kisan Card” for farmers gets approved by CM Punjab

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At a meeting on agricultural reforms, Punjab’s Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz presided over the approval of the “Nawaz Sharif Kisan Card” for farmers.

Farmers would receive a variety of subsidies through the Kisan Card scheme, and 500,000 small farmers in Punjab will be eligible for loans totaling Rs 150 billion over the course of a year. Each farmer will receive Rs 30,000 for every acre of land used for agriculture.

CM Maryam Nawaz announced during the meeting that a model agriculture center will be constructed in each district of the province with the assistance of the commercial sector, enabling farmers to discard phony fertilizers and medications.

The establishment of a cutting-edge center of excellence for research development on cotton, wheat, and rice crops was approved during the conference, and the Agriculture Department was instructed to gather comprehensive data on the production and demand of each crop.

Participants in the conference decided to link the research center with local universities and to give the board authority over administrative matters.

It was also decided to construct a research and development center at Agricultural University Faisalabad with Chinese participation, at a cost of Rs 2 billion.

In addition, it was decided to hire 500 agricultural graduates, update the Punjab Seed Corporation and Punjab Agricultural Research Board’s organizational structures, provide a bill that forbids the use of agricultural land for residential purposes, and outfit the Agricultural Extension Wing with cutting-edge machinery.

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Khalid Maqbool calls the ‘non-local’ police that were placed in Karachi ‘injustice’.

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Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, the convener of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), described the imposition of “non-local” police and administration on the port city as an injustice for the people, as reported by The News on Friday.

During a labor wing of the party-organized iftar dinner in North Nazimabad, the politician claimed that Karachi had non-local police, calling this an injustice to the city’s residents.

Siddiqui questioned why the province’s capital city had a non-local police force, pointing out that other major centers in Sindh had their own citizens working in state and federal organizations.

We are going through numerous political phases as a country, and we are forced to use non-local administration and law enforcement. However, the MQM-P has once again reclaimed from the non-locals the mandate of the province’s metropolitan districts,” Siddiqui stated.

Siddiqui claimed that “ghair maqami,” or non-local, bandits were killing young people in Karachi through street violence, citing the city’s growing number of youth fatalities from such incidents.

“Young people in the city are being brutally murdered by out-of-town bandits during Ramadan,” the MQM-P leader claimed.

He went on to say that Sindh’s “racist” administration had been given free rein and that although his party had been silent throughout Ramadan, it will now speak out about the deaths of young people in the city at the hands of outside bandits.

Siddiqui emphasized that if it took going to the streets to defend women’s honor, the MQM-P would not think twice about making any sacrifice. The ad hoc organizing committee of the party was also present at the occasion.

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CM Gandapur and Mohsin Naqvi pledge to cooperate in the fight against terrorism.

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To put an end to terrorism in the province, it was resolved during the conference to step up intelligence-based initiatives.

The deaths of the Chinese nationals in the suicide assault in Shangla were regretted by both leaders. Effective counterterrorism measures were directed by the federal interior minister.

He asserted that the enemies’ and miscreants’ despicable acts could not break the resolve of the Pakistani people.

According to Gandapur, the province’s government is committed to doing everything within its power to combat terrorism and safeguard the lives and property of its citizens.

It is important to note that a suicide bomber in KP’s Bisham crashed his car packed with explosives into a caravan of Chinese nationals, killing at least five of them along with their local driver.

A suicide bomber struck one of the coaches in the convoy of twelve cars en route from Islamabad to Dasu Dam in Kohistan with a vehicle carrying explosives.

Six individuals were killed when the targeted vehicle crashed into a deep ditch due to the fire produced by the explosion.

There is a sizable dam at Dasu, and there have been previous attacks there. Thirteen people were murdered in a bus explosion in 2013, and nine of them were Chinese nationals.

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