Daily Times

An accountability court permitted on Monday the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to investigate Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif in a fresh case. The corruption watchdog has launched an inquiry into alleged illegal appointment of Syed Talat Mehmood as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Punjab Provincial Cooperative Bank. Shehbaz is accused of illegally approving the appointment. The bureau moved a plea before duty judge Sheikh Sajjad Ahmed seeking permission to investigate the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly inside Kot Lakhpat Jail, which the court accepted.

Shehbaz Sharif faces a number of corruption cases, including assets beyond means and money laundering. He was arrested for a second time by the NAB after the Lahore High Court cancelled his bail in a money laundering case last year in September. Before that, he was arrested on Oct 5, 2018, in other cases — Ramzan Sugar Mills and Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme – and was later released on bail.