Accountability Court Lahore is currently hearing a money laundering reference against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and former Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz. The father-son duo is accused of laundering Rs16 billion through companies’ fake accounts.
Yesterday, the accountability court approved the request for permanent exemption from the court the appearance to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and sought a response from NAB on the same request moved by Hamza Shehbaz Sharif. It is being predicted that Punjab’s former chief minister will also get relief from the court.
If we look at the history of the money laundering reference, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) registered a case against the then opposition leader and current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz and Salman Shehbaz in November 2020.
In July this year, the accountability court had declared Salman Shehbaz and co-accused Tahir Naqvi as fugitives for non-appearance. Earlier, two more accused were also declared as absconders. On May 28, arrest warrants were also issued for two co-accused Tahir Naqvi and Malik Maqsood, including the Prime Minister’s son.
In June 2022, Malik Maqsood, a co-accused in the money laundering case, died in the United Arab Emirates and was buried in Lahore, on which Special Court Central Judge Ejaz Awan sought the details of Malik Maqsood’s death.
During the hearing of the money laundering case in May, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s lawyer Amjad Pervaiz argued that all the statements of the witnesses were taken during the previous regime.
The lawyer argued that the recorded statements do not make out the case. Ramzan Sugar Mills, Al Arabiya Sugar Mills and Sharif Group of Companies are mentioned in the FIR. Shahbaz Sharif is not associated with Ramzan Sugar Mills or Sharif Group of Companies, nor was he ever a director of those companies.
He said that not a single rupee was received or withdrawn from the disputed accounts in Shahbaz Sharif’s account and added proving charges against his client is the job of the prosecution. The case is made on political grounds.
Now, the court has to decide whether the case is political or not, however, it is certain that the accountability court has given Shahbaz Sharif permanent exemption from the court appearance due to his engagements as the prime minister, which is usually not granted to an ordinary citizen of the country.
Another example of exemption from a court appearance in the country’s history can be obtained from the case of the President of Pakistan. In the past, a case was registered against the current President Dr. Arif Alvi under the Anti-Terrorism Act for inciting people to violence in Islamabad.
However, as the President of the country, Dr. Arif Alvi got an exemption from the case and the Anti-Terrorism Court of Islamabad postponed the proceedings against him until the term of the presidency. The President is protected under Article 248 of the 1973 Constitution.
Interestingly, there is a clear difference in the immunity enjoyed by the President and the Prime Minister. No action has been taken against the President in the case, while Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has been allowed to appoint a representative to appear in the trial through his representative.
