LAHORE: PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif has been presented before an accountability court in a case pertaining to the Ashiana-i-Iqbal housing project scam. <br /><br />NAB officials brought the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly to the court amid tight security.<br /><br />He was presented before the accountability court on the completion of his 10-day physical remand.<br /><br />On Oct 6, Judge Najmul Hassan handed Shehbaz over in NAB custody on its request for questioning in the scam.<br /><br />A NAB prosecutor requested the judge to remand the PML-N leader in their custody for interrogation for 15 days.<br /><br />He said the former Punjab chief minister misused his powers, causing a huge loss to the national kitty.<br /><br />The lawyer said Shehbaz had cancelled a contract awarded to M/s Ch A Latif & Sons for construction of Ashiana Iqbal Housing project and handed it to his favourite firm.<br /><br />He sought the PML-N leader’s custody for further investigation into the scam.<br /><br />On the other hand, Shehbaz termed all allegations against him baseless. His lawyer opposed the NAB request to hand him over to the Bureau on physical remand.<br /><br />The accountability judge turned down the NAB plea for the grant of 15-day physical remand of Shehbaz and instead remanded him in its custody for ten days.<br /><br />The NAB on Oct 5 arrested the PML-N president inside its Lahore office where he was summoned to record his statement in connection with the Punjab Saaf Pani Company case.<br /><br />A combined investigation team of the country’s top anti-graft watchdog quizzed him for an hour over his alleged role in awarding contract to his “favourite firm” in violation of laws in the Ashiana-i-Iqbal housing project.
