Hamza Shehbaz withdraws his acquittal plea in sugar mills’ case

LAHORE, January 20: An accountability court (AC) in Lahore on Thursday disposed of the acquittal application filed by Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shehbaz in Ramzan Sugar Mills’ reference when the latter told the court he was not interested in benefitting from the recently promulgated National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Amendment Ordinance, and hence withdrew his acquittal plea. “I have a firm belief in The Almighty Allah, and I also trust this court. I want the settlement of my cases on merit,” he said. Meanwhile, counsel for Shehbaz Sharif submitted an application to two accountability courts, seeking his client’s exemption from appearance today on account of his suffering from the coronavirus. The court also reserved its verdict on the acquittal applications filed by two co-suspects in Ashiana Housing Scheme case along with PML-N president, namely Bilal Qidwai and Imtiaz Haider. The court then adjourned hearing of all the references against Hamza and his father, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif until January 27. -NNI