A court in Lahore on Saturday adjourned the hearing of a money laundering case against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz until Monday September 19, 2022 on account of public holiday in Lahore on the occasion of Urs of Hazrat Data Gunj Bux. Both Shehbaz and Hamza have filed acquittal pleas in the Special Central Court while the latter has sought a reply from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on these pleas.  In their petitions, both father and son have argued that they were nominated in the challan without looking at the facts. “The truth is that no evidence has been found against us during the investigation so far,” they said, and prayed to the court to exonerate them from money laundering charges.

Similarly, the same court adjourned hearing of the petition filed by Suleman Shehbaz, son of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, for unfreezing his companies’ bank accounts until Monday, September 19, 2022 on account of local holiday on the occasion of Urs of Hazrat Data Ganj Bux. In his petition, Suleman has said that he is not the owner but a shareholder in these companies. “Secondly, I am a suspect in the FIA’s case, and not these companies,” he has said. It has been further stated in the petition that due to freezing of these accounts, these firms are finding it difficult to pay salaries to their employees as well as bills; therefore, it is prayed to the court to order unfreezing of these accounts.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP