ISLAMABAD: An anti-corruption court on Thursday acquitted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shahbaz on charges of using public funds to benefit Ramzan Sugar Mills, built by the premier’s father in 1992 and part of the Sharif Group of Companies.
The case, filed by the National Accountability Bureau on Feb. 18, 2019, involved allegations Sharif had used public funds to build a sludge carrier in Chiniot district in Punjab province to benefit Ramzan Sugar Mills, owned by his sons. Sharif was the chief minister of Punjab province at the time. NAB had alleged the project inflicted a loss of Rs213 million to the national exchequer.
“An Anti-Corruption Court Lahore has acquitted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and former Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said on Thursday. “The verdict was announced by Judge of Anti-Corruption Court Sardar Iqbal Dogar in Lahore.”
Sharif and son Hamza were indicted in the case in 2019. They had pleaded during hearings since that the sludge carrier was not constructed only to cater to the family’s mill but to benefit the area.
“The acquittal came after the NAB informed the court that it had found no evidence of financial corruption or misuse of authority by Shehbaz and stated and stated that the allegations of misuse of authority and corruption against the former prime minister were not substantiated under the National Accountability Ordinance of 1999,” Pakistan’s top news channel, Geo News, reported.
“The premier and former chief minister, in the 2018 reference, was accused of causing massive financial loss to the national kitty by awarding the contract to a construction firm without a competitive bidding process.”
In Nov. 2023, Sharif and 10 others were acquitted by an accountability court in the Lahore in the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme reference.
Sharif, 73, is the younger brother of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who spearheaded their Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party’s election campaign for the 2024 general election.
This is Sharif’s second term as prime minister. He first replaced cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan as prime minister after the latter’s ouster in a no-confidence vote in parliament in April 2022.
Sharif is best known for his direct, “can-do” administrative style, which was on display when, as chief minister of Punjab province, he worked closely with China on Beijing-funded projects after 2013. He also planned and executed a number of ambitious infrastructure mega-projects, including Pakistan’s first modern mass transport system in his hometown, the eastern city of Lahore.
Pakistani PM, son acquitted in long-running sugar mills corruption case
https://arab.news/9d2uy
Pakistani PM, son acquitted in long-running sugar mills corruption case
- Case involved allegations of the misuse of authority by Shehbaz Sharif when he was chief minister of Punjab provinces
- Anti-graft authority had charged Sharif with using public funds to built a sludge carrier that would benefit a family-owned mill
Pakistan eyes revenue boost as Chinese cargo firm formally launches flights to Islamabad
- The air corridor linking Urumqi and Islamabad is expected to promote cross-border e-commerce
- The airports authority says SF Cargo’s initiative will also strengthen Pakistan’s air freight sector
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) expressed optimism over substantial revenue gains on Saturday as a Chinese logistics company officially launched flight operations to Islamabad.
SF Cargo, a subsidiary of one of China’s largest logistics and courier firms, has established a new air cargo route linking Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Islamabad.
According to a report in Pakistani state media earlier this month, the air corridor is expected to facilitate cross-border e-commerce and other trade goods, strengthening economic ties between the two countries.
“SF Cargo has officially commenced its flight operations at Islamabad International Airport,” the PAA said in a statement, adding the service would operate twice a week initially, with plans to expand to four weekly flights in the foreseeable future.
“This development is expected to generate substantial revenue growth through cargo throughput charges,” it added. “Additionally, it may open new export channels to Urumqi, offering local exporters enhanced access to the Chinese market.”
The statement said each flight operated by the Chinese firm will carry approximately 22,775 kilograms of cargo, contributing significantly to Pakistan’s air freight sector.
China and Pakistan maintain close economic and strategic relations, with both sides promoting trade and infrastructure development.
While large-scale projects like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) remain central to their cooperation, both governments have increasingly encouraged private-sector-led initiatives to deepen bilateral commerce.
Gunmen kill four laborers in Pakistan’s restive southwest amid renewed militant violence
- The incident happened in Balochistan’s Kalat district where a group of agriculture workers were shot
- According to a senior official in the area, the laborers belonged to Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province
QUETTA: At least four laborers belonging to Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province were killed on Saturday after unidentified gunmen targeted them some 40 kilometers from the Mangochar area, situated in Balochistan’s Kalat district, according to a senior government functionary.
This is not the first time laborers from Punjab have been targeted in Pakistan’s restive southwestern Balochistan province, which shares porous borders with Iran and Afghanistan and has experienced a low-scale insurgency by Baloch separatist groups against the Pakistani state.
Baloch nationalists have long accused the Pakistani government and the country’s most prosperous Punjab province of monopolizing profits from Balochistan’s abundant natural resources, saying it has led to their political marginalization and economic exploitation.
Pakistani administrations have denied these allegations, however, citing several development initiatives launched in the province to improve local living conditions.
“Five laborers were drilling on private agricultural land in Mangochar when armed men targeted them with gunshots, killing four laborers at around 2:30 in the afternoon today,” Ali Gul Umrani, Assistant Commissioner Mangochar, told Arab News.
“One laborer survived the attack and the unidentified gunmen fled the area,” he added.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, last month, seven Punjab-based passengers were killed by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), whose militants intercepted a passenger bus and off-boarded those passengers after checking their national identity cards in Barkhan district.
“The laborers targeted today belonged to Punjab’s Sadiqabad district,” Umrani informed, adding their bodies were being shifted to their native villages.
The latest attack against Punjabi laborers comes days after BLA militants hijacked a Peshawar-bound passenger train in the rugged and mountainous Bolan region, killing more than 30 passengers, including Pakistan Army soldiers.
The BLA took hundreds of passengers captive, and the situation persisted for nearly 36 hours before security forces launched a rescue operation in which all 33 militants were killed.
Reacting to the Mangochar attack, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the killing of the laborers and prayed for their departed souls.
“In this hour of grief, we stand with the families of these poor, hardworking laborers,” he said.
“Those who target laborers and working-class individuals are enemies of humanity,” he added. “We will not rest until all forms of terrorism are eradicated from the country.”
Health authorities confirm first mpox case in Pakistan’s Sindh
- The 29-year-old patient has no recent travel history, raising suspicion of local transmission
- Provincial health official says the patient is kept in isolation, with contact tracing in progress
KARACHI: Pakistan’s southeastern province of Sindh on Saturday reported its first mpox case, with health authorities saying the patient, in his late 20s, had no recent travel history and was being kept in isolation at a local hospital.
Pakistan reported eight cases last year and five this year of mpox, which causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems face a higher risk of complications from the infection.
Mpox can spread through close contact with an infected person, such as skin-to-skin touching or cuts, sexual activity, mouth-to-mouth contact, or by breathing in infectious respiratory particles.
The Sindh health department’s announcement highlighting the lack of travel history raises suspicion of a locally transmitted case.
“Saturday 22nd March 2025, the lab confirmed the first case of Monkeypox in Sindh,” Meeran Yousuf, the provincial health department spokesperson, said in a brief statement.
“The 29-year-old male, resident of District Malir, has no recent travel history,” he continued. “His first symptom onset was on 15th March 2025. The patient is currently in isolation at a public hospital and contact tracing is currently being conducted by the health department.”
Last month, Pakistan reported two new mpox cases in the northwestern city of Peshawar, one of which was said to be the country’s first locally transmitted case.
The World Health Organization declared a global health emergency in 2024 over the spread of a new, more dangerous mutated strain of mpox, named clade I. The strain first emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo and spread to several countries, prompting increased monitoring and preventive measures worldwide.
Pakistan has so far not reported any cases of the new mutation.
Pakistan’s special envoy visits Afghanistan amid deepening tensions over militancy
- The Pak-Afghan ties have remained tense in recent months due to a mix of security, political and border issues
- Pakistan has deported over 800,000 Afghans since Nov. 2023 and plans to repatriate more in the coming days
ISLAMABAD: A senior Pakistani diplomat designated to exclusively deal with Afghanistan-related matters is on a three-day visit to the neighboring country, the foreign office announced on Saturday, as bilateral ties between the two nations hit a low point amid a surge in militant attacks in Pakistan.
Pakistan-Afghanistan relations have remained tense in recent months due to a mix of security, political and border issues, with Islamabad accusing the Taliban-led interim government in Kabul of providing safe haven to anti-Pakistan militant groups facilitating cross-border attacks. Kabul has denied the allegations.
The friction escalated after a recent targeting of a passenger train in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, claimed by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).
Pakistani officials said the BLA fighters remained in contact with “handlers” based in Afghanistan during the attack that lasted for two days and involved hundred of hostages.
“At the direction of Deputy Prime Minister / Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50, Special Representative for Afghanistan, Amb. Muhammad Sadiq Khan, is undertaking an official visit to Afghanistan from 21-23 March 2025 to discuss Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relation,” the foreign office said in a social media post, without providing further details.
Pakistan launched a nationwide deportation campaign targeting undocumented foreigners, mostly Afghans, in November 2023, shortly after a series of deadly suicide bombings that officials blamed on Afghan nationals.
The move, which added to diplomatic tensions between the two countries, has so far led to the repatriation of more than 800,000 Afghans. Many of them had lived in Pakistan since fleeing the Soviet invasion of their country in 1979.
The Pakistani government earlier this month also directed Afghanistan Citizen Card holders to leave the country by March 31, warning they would face deportation if they failed to comply.
Baloch rights group says top leader arrested in police raid in southwestern Pakistan
- Baloch Yakjehti Committee says Dr. Mahrang Baloch was arrested amid a province-wide wheel-jam strike
- Provincial authorities blame BYC activists for trying to snatch the bodies of militants who targeted Jaffar Express
QUETTA: A leading Baloch ethnic rights group announced on Saturday its top leader was arrested along with several of her colleagues in southwestern Balochistan after police raided their protest camp at dawn in the provincial capital of Quetta.
Dr. Mahrang Baloch has long campaigned for the rights of the ethnic Baloch community, which claims to be subjected to extrajudicial harassment, arrests and killings by security forces in the province.
The Pakistani state, however, denies the allegation, saying its forces are combating separatist militants who target armed forces personnel and foreign nationals in the mineral-rich province that borders Iran and Afghanistan.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) said its leader’s arrest came amid a province-wide wheel-jam strike that followed an alleged police attack on a protest in Quetta that killed three people on Friday evening. BYC said its leader and other supporters began a sit-in with the bodies of the deceased when authorities intervened and detained them.
“At around 5:30 this morning, police and other state agencies attacked the protest sit-in, seized the bodies of the martyrs from the demonstrators, and arrested Baloch Yakjehti Committee’s central leader, Dr. Mahrang Baloch, along with her companions,” Sammi Deen Baloch, another BYC leader, said in a social media post.
“The bodies of the slain youth were also forcibly taken into custody,” she added. “In addition, a crackdown was carried out against women and children as well.”
Balochistan’s provincial authorities accused the BYC of getting into a confrontation with police after some of its members allegedly tried to snatch the bodies of deceased militants involved in the hijacking of a passenger train in the province from a mortuary last week.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group, had targeted the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express in the mountainous Bolan region on March 11, taking hundreds of passengers captive.
The siege, which lasted for two days, ended after a military operation that killed 33 militants. The attack, which also claimed the lives of over 30 civilians and security personnel, was one of the deadliest train assaults in the country’s history.
A senior police official confirmed to Arab News on condition of anonymity that Baloch and seven other BYC activists had been arrested in this morning following the attempt to take militants’ bodies with them.
“Police have lodged an FIR [first information report] against Dr. Mahrang and other protesters who attempted to snatch militants’ bodies from the Civil Hospital on Wednesday to glorify the terrorists,” he said. “They also snatched two bodies yesterday from the families who wanted to bury their loved ones and didn’t want to be part of the police and BYC clash.”
A statement released by the office of the commissioner Quetta division during the day also maintained the BYC initiated a protest seeking the recovery of the bodies of militants who targeted the passenger train.
“The protest quickly turned violent as BYC protesters and their armed accomplices resorted to stone-pelting, indiscriminate firing and attacks on law enforcement personnel,” the statement continued. “During the unrest, three individuals lost their lives due to the firing by armed elements accompanying BYC leadership.”
The statement added civil authorities and police emphasized the deceased individuals’ bodies required examination to ascertain the actual circumstances of their deaths, but the BYC refused to hand them over.
“On the request of the deceased’s families, police successfully recovered the bodies from the unlawful custody of BYC supporters and ensured their respectful handover to the respective families,” the statement informed.
“Legal proceedings have been initiated against BYC leaders and their armed associates for inciting and abetting unlawful activities,” it added. “They have been booked under relevant laws for attacking the Civil Hospital, instigating violent protests and other serious offenses.”
Meanwhile, Sabiha Baloch, a senior BYC member, conducted a news conference in which she presented a list of demands to the government.
“The [Balochistan] chief minister, inspector general of police, commissioner and deputy commissioner of Quetta must be sacked for killing three unarmed protesters,” she said. “All detained members of BYC, including Dr. Mahrang Baloch, must be released immediately.”
The authorities restored the cellphone service in Quetta on Saturday evening after suspending it for 16 hours amid the BYC protests. However, the cellphone Internet service continues to remain suspended even after three days.
