Shehbaz Sharif, Ahad Cheema, Fawad acquitted in Ashiana reference

An accountability court in Lahore has acquitted former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the Ashiana Iqbal Housing Project reference.

Other accused individuals, including former Director General of Lahore Development Authority Ahad Khan Cheema and Interim Minister for Privatization Fawad Hassan Fawad, were also exonerated in the reference. Judge Ali Zulqarnain Awan announced the reserved verdict on Saturday.

In his verdict, Judge Ali Zulqarnain Awan stated that the allegations of corruption against Shehbaz Sharif, Ahad Khan Cheema, and others could not be proven. He added that the NAB (National Accountability Bureau) report had already given a clean chit to all the accused.

The court was informed that the decision of the Supreme Court does not prevent the trial court from deciding the Ashiana reference. According to the verdict, the accused did not gain any advantage in the Ashiana case. The hearing on the case was conducted on merit in the accountability court, and no evidence of corruption was found against the accused, leading to their acquittal.

Shehbaz’s lawyer informed the court that in the Ashiana Iqbal Project, not a single penny was lost to the national treasury, and none of the accused received any financial benefit. He stated that two other accused, Naeem Zia Pirzada and Kamran Kayani, were already acquitted in the case.

The lawyer argued that the Ashiana reference, filed in 2018, failed to prove anything over the last five years. He asserted that the reference was made to politically victimize Shehbaz Sharif and Ahmed Cheema, who were sent to jail on false charges.

In May of this year, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had cleared Shehbaz Sharif in the Ashiana Housing scandal. The NAB report stated that no concrete evidence of corruption or misuse of authority was found, leading to a clean chit for Shehbaz Sharif. The report confirmed that the Ashiana Housing Scheme contract was awarded in accordance with the law, and anti-corruption laws were strictly followed during the process.