Shehbaz Sharif indicted in housing scam case

An accountability court on Monday indicted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif along with nine others in a housing scandal.

The country's anti-corruption watchdog, the National Accountability Bureau, had arrested Sharif on October 5 in connection to the Ashiana Iqbal Housing Scheme case.

Sharif has been accused of misusing his authority during his tenure as Punjab province's Chief Minister from 2013 to May 2018 by unlawfully assuming powers of the board of directors of the Punjab Land Development Company and awarding a contract to an ineligible proxy firm that resulted in the failure of the housing scheme.

The scam reportedly caused losses of millions of rupees to the national exchequer and deprived 61,000 applicants of houses.

Sharif and other suspects appeared before the accountability court in Lahore on Monday as Judge Syed Najamul Hassan heard the case and framed charges, Geo News reported.

The former Punjab Chief Minister denied the charges and claimed that NAB framed him in a baseless reference. He said he never misused his authority and instead safeguarded the national wealth.

"The nation will see that it is the most fake case of the history. NAB is a liar," he said.

The PML-N chief was earlier released from sub-jail on February 15, a day after the Lahore High Court granted him bail in the housing scheme and Ramzan Sugar Mills cases.