- Shahbaz Sharif was arrested on Friday, the accountability court on Saturday issued a 10-day physical remand
- PML-N and other opposition parties condemned the arrest
LAHORE: An accountability court in Lahore has issued a 10-day physical remand for opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif to Pakistan’s anti-graft body, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The NAB presented Sharif before Judge Syed Najmul Hasan amid tight security on Saturday. A day earlier, the NAB arrested Sharif for alleged misappropriations in the Ashiana Housing Scheme in Lahore during his tenure as chief minister of Punjab province from 2013 to 2018.
The NAB launched a probe into the scandal after the housing scheme failed to materialize due to the alleged corruption.
Sharif, president of the Pakistan Muslim League — Nawaz (PML-N), had appeared before NAB authorities on Friday to record his statement in another case, but he was detained.
The NAB said it has “sufficient evidence” against the accused, and has already arrested several close aides of Sharif in connection with the corruption scandal.
During Saturday’s accountability court hearing, he called the NAB’s allegations baseless. Several hundred PML-N workers and party leaders gathered outside the judicial complex and chanted slogans in support of Sharif.
PML-N Chairman Raja Zafrul Haq told Arab News that Sharif’s arrest is “pre-poll rigging as by-elections are to be held next week,” and “is aimed at keeping him away from the process. We demand his earliest release.”
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) also condemned Sharif’s arrest, telling Arab News: “Investigations should be carried out across the board, not only against members of opposition parties.”
Senior political analyst Salim Bokhari said the arrest “may further augment political rivalry between the ruling party and the united opposition.”