PM Shehbaz, Hamza Shehbaz acquitted in Ramzan Sugar Mills case

LAHORE: An anti-corruption court on Thursday acquitted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz in the Ramzan Sugar Mills reference.

An anti-corruption court Judge Sardar Iqbal Dogar gave a reserved verdict on the petitions and the court accepted the acquittal petitions of Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz.

The accountability court was informed that the NAB in its reference made a case of alleged corruption of Rs213 million.

The court previously reserved its verdict on February 3, 2025, and accepted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz’s acquittal pleas.

The defence counsel, Amjad Pervaiz, had argued that the case was “politically motivated”, stating that the directive for the drain’s construction was not issued by the then chief minister, but was approved by the Punjab cabinet as part of a development scheme for the area.

In 2018, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a reference against then-chief minister PM Shehbaz and his son Hamza, alleging that they had caused a loss of Rs213 million to the national exchequer.

It had said Shehbaz had issued a directive for the construction of a drain in the Chiniot district primarily for the use of Ramzan Sugar Mills, owned by his sons Hamza and Suleman.