LAHORE: A special court (Central) on Monday deferred the indictment of Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza in a money laundering case registered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) till March 10.

Earlier, FIA prosecutor produced readable copies of the challan (investigation report) to the defense counsel and asked the court to indict the accused immediately. He contended that under the law immediate indictment is essential after provision of readable copies of the challan. He also contended that the defense counsel was trying to delay the indictment only.

The court, however, adjourned the proceedings till next hearing as the defense was not ready to join the court proceedings due to strike. Shehbaz and his sons Hamza and Suleman were booked by the FIA in November 2020 under sections 419, 420, 468, 471, 34 and 109 of the PPC for financial fraud, impersonation and forgery, under sections 5(2) and 5(3) of Prevention of Corruption Act for criminal misconduct and sections r/w 3/4 of Anti Money Laundering Act.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022