Daily Times

Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif and his daughter appeared before an accountability court in Lahore in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case.

Accountability court judge Jawadul Hassan conducted the hearing of the case. The PML-N defended his performance and said he saved billions during his tenure as Punjab chief minister without any personal benefit.

Shehbaz Sharif said the Sindh government had reduced the rates of sugarcane but the decision was not followed by Punjab. He said he faced immense pressure to reduce the rates and provide subsidy for his family’s sugar mills but he refused, resulting in huge financial losses.

He further said the court was also facing allegations of possessing benami properties. The judge remarked that he will be given a chance to defend himself in the money laundering case being heard separately.

Previously, Shehbaz Sharif said that he has not committed corruption of a single penny. I never took salary from the national exchequer, he added.

The PML-N leader stated that he had brought international investment worth billions of rupees to Pakistan during his tenure.

According to the NAB investigation report, Chief Financial Officer of Sharif family Muhammad Usman laundered money for the Shehbaz family.

Muhammad Usman started working for the Sharif family in 2005 at Ramzan Sugar Mills for Rs 90,000 per month. In 2006, the Nawaz family acquired Hudaibiya Engineering from the Shehbaz family and in 2007, the Shehbaz family made more companies, including the Sharif Feed Mill, to expand their business.