Court also declares Ahad Cheema, Fawad Hassan innocent. NAB said it found no evidence of corruption by Shehbaz Sharif. ATC Judge Zulqarnain Awan reserved verdict on November 2. LAHORE: Former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and 10 others have been acquitted in the Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme reference by a Lahore accountability court, Geo News reported Saturday. Incumbent federal minister Ahad Cheema and Fawad Hassan Fawad were also among the accused who had been declared innocent by the court. On November 2, Judge Malik Ali Zulqarnain Awan of the accountability court reserved the verdict after concluding the final arguments presented by the counsels and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutors on acquittal pleas.
The Lahore accountability court has declared former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and 10 others innocent in the Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme case, as reported by Geo News on Saturday. The court also acquitted incumbent federal minister Ahad Cheema and Fawad Hassan Fawad, who were among the accused. The verdict comes after the court reserved judgment on November 2, considering the arguments presented by the counsels and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutors on acquittal pleas. The applicants had emphasized that all prosecution witnesses and approvers had withdrawn their statements, suggesting no possibility of conviction. The NAB had earlier reported finding no evidence of financial corruption or misuse of authority by Shehbaz Sharif. The NAB had filed the reference in 2018, alleging a financial loss to the national treasury due to the awarding of a contract without competitive bidding.
