LAHORE: An accountability court in Lahore indicted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shahbaz in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case on Thursday.

They have been accused of making a drain around the Chiniot mills using funds from the national treasury.

Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and PML-N leader Hamza Shehbaz appeared in court on Thursday.

Father and son appeared in court as the charges were read out against them by read out by Accountability Judge Amjad Nazir Chaudhry. The drain construction allegedly caused a loss of Rs210 million to the treasury.

As the hearing went underway, both accused pleaded not guilty to all charges, terming them baseless. Their lawyer requested time for case preparation which was rejected by the court.

The PML-N president told the AC judge that he is being dragged into fake case as he has always worked with honesty.

Shehbaz Sharif said that he served as the Punjab Chief Minister for 12 years during which he approved projects worth trillions of rupees for the province.

“I served the people of Punjab for 12 years and didn’t take a salary and even money for petrol during the 12-years tenure,” he told the court.

The PML-N further told that he didn’t build drain with nation’s money as he was a public representative with emotions for general masses. “I always tried to provide employment chances to the unemployed people,” he went on to say.

Subsequently, the accountability court has summoned all the witnesses in next hearing and directed the counsels to record their arguments on the same day.

National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had claimed that a drain was constructed out of public money in Chiniot to facilitate the Ramzan Sugar Mills when Shehbaz Sharif, the co-accused in the case, was Punjab’s chief minister.

Hamza Shahbaz has also been charged in the case as he is the chief executive of the Ramzan Sugar Mills.

The court has summoned the prosecution’s witnesses on August 27.

A heavy contingent of security forces was deployed outside the court for the hearing. Many PML-N leaders and supporters surrounded Shehbaz and Hamza when they came to the court. Some party workers pushed one another during the rush.

The indictment previously was postponed because Shehbaz was recovering from the novel coronavirus.

The NAB has filed a reference accusing former Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif, his son Hamza Shahbaz and others for causing losses to the national exchequer and misusing authority by sanctioning construction of a bridge to facilitate the sugar mills.

NAB officials say Shehbaz Sharif, being chief minister of Punjab, misused his authority by issuing directives for the construction of a 10-kilometer-long drain in Chiniot primarily to benefit the sugar mill owned by his sons. Shehbaz and Hamza have been accused of fraudulently causing a Rs 213 million loss to the national exchequer. NNI