NAB gives clean chit to PM Shehbaz in Ashiana housing scandal

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Saturday declared Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif did not obtain any benefit from the government funds or misused his public office in the Ashiyana-e-Iqbal Housing Project. According to the bureau, there was no evidence of corruption in the housing contract, neither the government treasury was affected nor the premier, then serving as chief minister of Punjab, received any benefits. NAB further said that according to records, evidence proves that no public office holder received any benefits of any kind from the contract. Read Shehbaz sent on 10-day remand by accountability court in Ashiyana scam The report added that the premier had sent the matter of awarding the Ashiana contract to Latif & Sons to the anti-corruption department as per the law. NAB has also requested that the accountability court in Lahore decide on the plea of ​​acquittal of PM Shehbaz according as per the law. In 2018, the country’s top accountability watchdog arrested Shehbaz over his alleged involvement in a multi-billion rupees housing scam, the Ashiyana-e-Iqbal Housing Project. Shehbaz was arrested by the NAB inside its Lahore office where he was summoned to record his statement before a combined investigations team in connection with the Punjab Saaf Pani Company case. Also read NAB given details of Shehbaz's foreign assets by FBR In the following year, an accountability court formally charged him in the case. The bureau had named former principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad, Nadeem Zia, ex-army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kiyani’s brother Kamran Kiyani, Munir Zia, Khalid Hussain, Ali Sajid, Shahid Chaudhry, Ahad Khan Cheema, Bilal Kidwai, Shahid Shafique, Imtiaz Haider, Israr Saeed and Arif Butt in the Ashiana-e-Iqbal reference. As the prime accused in the Ashiana-e-Iqbal case, Shahbaz faced allegations of misusing his authority and conniving with then Lahore Development Agency (LDA) director-general Ahad Khan Cheema to award the housing scheme contract to a favoured firm instead of the successful bidder. He was also accused of bypassing the powers of the Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC) board of directors to transfer the project from PLDC to LDA.