Pakistan's top anti-graft body on Tuesday asked the accountability court to issue an arrest warrant against main opposition PML-N chief Shehbaz Sharif in corruption cases, saying he is roaming free in London.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) also asked the court to dismiss his plea for exemption from appearance, Geo news reported.
Shehbaz, 67, who served as the chief minister of the politically crucial Punjab province from 2013 to 2018, has been indicted along with nine others in the Ashiana Housing scheme case.
He was arrested by the NAB in the probe on October 5, 2018 and released on bail on February 14.
The NAB told the court that in London, Shehbaz -- the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly -- was roaming free in London and, has submitted applications citing health issues
All medical tests and treatment of Shehbaz are possible in Pakistan, the NAB said as it submitted its response to the accountability court in connection with the housing scam and Ramzan Sugar Mills case.
When the court inquired about his return, his lawyer said that Shehbaz will return on June 11.
Meanwhile, his son Hamza who is the Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly, went to the court to mark his presence.
The father-son duo were indicted in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case in April. The NAB in February filed a case against the two, alleging that Shehbaz misused his authority by using public funds for the construction of a bridge to facilitate the Ramzan mills, owned by his sons.
Shehbaz became the PML-N president after his elder brother Nawaz Sharif was barred from holding the top party position and public posts.
Deposed prime minister Sharif, 69, has been serving a seven-year prison term at the jail since December 24, 2018 when an accountability court convicted him in one of the three corruption cases filed in the wake of the apex court's July 28, 2017 order in Panama Papers case.
Sharif and his family have denied any wrongdoing and allege that the corruption cases against them were politically motivated.
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