Lahore: In a significant development, former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and 10 co-accused individuals have been cleared of all charges in the Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme case by a Lahore accountability court.
The list of those acquitted includes incumbent federal minister Ahad Cheema and Fawad Hassan Fawad, among others, who were all declared innocent by the court.
The verdict, delivered by Judge Malik Ali Zulqarnain Awan of the accountability court on November 2, followed the conclusion of final arguments presented by legal representatives and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutors regarding the acquittal pleas.
The applications for acquittal contended that all prosecution witnesses and the approvers had recanted their statements, signaling a lack of grounds for conviction in the reference. The applicants pressed the court to endorse the acquittal pleas, effectively absolving them of all charges.
