A Pakistani court questioned the newly elected Prime Minister, Shahbaz Sharif, on charges of a four-year corruption case and exempted him from attending hearings until the verdict.
Prime Minister Amjad Pervez’s lawyer described the trial as “politically motivated”, said that the government of his predecessor, Imran Khan, falsely implicated Sharif in the case, and explained that the case related to Sharif’s alleged connection to a multi-million dollar fraud in the eastern city of Lahore.
Prosecutors accuse Sharif of abuse of power when he was chief minister of Punjab province between 2013 and 2018 and accuse him of having granted a housing project scheme to low-income citizens to people associated with his party (Pakistan Islamic League), which Sharif denied.
Lawyer Pervez noted that Sharif’s regular appearance in court would have a negative impact on his daily work as Prime Minister, as he would have to travel frequently to Lahore to attend the hearings.
Sharif became prime minister in April, succeeding Khan, who was voted no-confidence in parliament.
Source: Associated Press