LAHORE: An anti-corruption court on Thursday acquitted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son, former Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz, in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case.

The court had reserved its verdict on February 03 (Monday).

The court accepted the burial plea of Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz after prosecutor said the complainant Zulfiqar Ali in the case had resiled from his earlier statement.

He said former MPA Rehmat Ali on whose request the wastewater drain was built had also passed away. He said, in his view, the construction of the drain was justified.

The prosecutor asked the court to go through the case record and decide the acquittal pleas of the accused persons accordingly.

The counsel of Shehbaz argued that the construction of drainage in question was not directed by then chief minister Shehbaz Sharif but was approved by the Punjab cabinet for the betterment of the area.

He argued that the said drain was not constructed only to cater the Ramzan Sugar Mills but instead was meant for the local area generally as development scheme.

He contended that the complainant Zulfiqar Ali in the case resiled from his earlier statement during a cross-examination stating that he had no knowledge of the case.

The complainant also submitted an affidavit to the court, admitting that the construction of the wastewater drain in Chiniot did not cause any loss to the national exchequer.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025