Lahore court acquits Pakistan PM, son in corruption case

An anti-corruption court in Lahore acquitted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son, Hamza Shehbaz, on Thursday in the 2019 Ramzan sugar mills corruption case, ruling in their favor after the defense and prosecution concluded their arguments.

Judge Sardar Muhammad Iqbal Dogar announced the verdict, accepting the acquittal pleas of the two.

What’s the case?

The case revolved around allegations that Shehbaz, as Punjab chief minister in 2014-2015, misused his authority to approve the construction of a drain using public funds primarily for the benefit of Ramzan Sugar Mills, owned by his sons Hamza and Suleman Shehbaz.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had accused Shehbaz and Hamza of misusing PKR 213 million from the national exchequer for the project.

The agency initially prosecuted the case under the National Accountability Ordinance but later transferred it to the anti-corruption court after amendments to the law in 2024 limited NAB’s jurisdiction to cases involving amounts exceeding PKR 500 million.

The Ramzan sugar mills case was among the cases involving the prime minister after former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's ouster in 2017.

The hearing

During the final arguments, the defense, led by Amjad Pervaiz, argued that the case was politically motivated.

He contended that the drain was not ordered by Shehbaz Sharif but was part of a broader development project approved by the Punjab cabinet.

Pervaiz further stated that the drain served 10 villages and was requested by Maulana Rahmatullah, a member of the Punjab Assembly at the time.

The prosecution, however, maintained that a government engineer had reported substandard materials in the drain’s construction and alleged that it was built to benefit the sugar mills.

The court, after reserving its decision, ruled in favor of Shehbaz and Hamza, clearing them of all charges.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz congratulated Shehbaz and Hamza on their acquittal, expressing her best wishes for them in a statement following the verdict.