Speaker Punjab Assembly issues production orders for Hamza Shehbaz

By Muhammad YaseenPublished On 06 Jan 2023

LAHORE: Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Tuesday issued production orders for Opposition Leader Hamza Shehbaz Sharif.

The speaker issued production orders for Hamza to allow him to attend the provincial assembly session which is scheduled to begin on June 5.

The budget session of the Punjab Assembly would be held at a hotel. The reason behind convening the session at the hotel is to ensure strict adherence to the standard operating procedures (SOPs), including social distancing protocols, for the MPAs, which was impossible to implement given the size of the assembly hall.

It may be noted that Hamza Shehbaz is on judicial remand over charges of assets beyond means and money laundering.

The NAB has filed a reference accusing former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz 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, Shahbaz Sharif, being the 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 mills owned by his sons. Shahbaz and Hamza have been accused of fraudulently causing a Rs 213 million loss to the national exchequer.