Court acquits Nawaz Sharif in property reference

• No objection raised by NAB to PML-N supremo’s acquittal.
• NAB alleged that Nawaz illegally allocated 54 lots just in case.
• The charge also included the loss of Rs143mn to the national treasury.

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif was acquitted by a court for accountability in a 37-year-old private property reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), The news reported Sunday.

The verdict, announced by Judge Rao Abdul Jabbar, came after the former prime minister’s lawyer alleged that NAB had malicious intent when it filed the referral against his client, who was not involved in the plot allocation.

Counsel further argued that the new law did not justify the case. In addition, counsel pointed out that all other suspects in the case had already been cleared of charges. It was stressed that even a declared perpetrator could be acquitted in the absence of sufficient evidence.

The NAB prosecutor did not object to Nawaz Sharif’s acquittal. After hearing counsel, the court acquitted the former prime minister.

NAB had alleged that the former Prime Minister illegally allocated 54 plots of one canal each in Block-H, Johar Town, Lahore when he was the chief minister of Punjab. It alleged that the accused incurred a loss of Rs 143 million to the national treasury from the allocation of the land.