Pakistan: Former PM Nawaz Sharif Arrested In Chaudhry Sugar Mills Case By National Accountability Bureau

Former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif has been arrested by the National Accountability Bureau in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case. Nawaz Sharif is accused of money laundering under the garb of sale and purchase of the sugar mill's shares. Sharif is already serving a seven-year sentence in the Al-Azizia Mills corruption case at Kot Lakhpat jail.

After taking the former prime minister into custody from Kot Lakhpat jail, a NAB team brought him to an accountability court in Lahore and sought a 15-day physical remand.

NAB prosecutor Hafiz Asadullah Awan said that Nawaz Sharif was the biggest shareholder in Chaudhry Sugar Mills in 2016. He remained a shareholder Shamim Sugar Mills as well, NAB’s prosecutor added, DAWN reports.

According to the NAB prosecutor, Maryam, PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif and other Sharif family members were also the shareholders in CSM. 

The proceedings were disrupted by party workers who were trying to take pictures with the former premier. 

In July 2018, Nawaz Sharif was handed a 10-year sentence in the Avenfield properties corruption reference. 

Sharif, 69, has been serving a seven-year prison term at the Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore since December 24, 2018 when an accountability court convicted him in one of the three corruption cases filed in the wake of the apex court’s July 28, 2017 order in Panama Papers case. In May, the apex court rejected his review petition seeking bail on medical grounds and permission to go abroad for medical treatment.

Earlier, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that Nawaz Sharif tried to secure his release with the help of two friendly countries. However, Khan did not reveal the names of the nations.