• Judge allows PM to appoint representative to appear in court on his behalf.
• Court also grants one-day exemption to Hamza Shahbaz.
• Seeks NAB’s response to Hamza’s plea for permanent exemption from appearance.

LAHORE: An accountability court on Monday granted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif a permanent exemption from appearing in the money laundering reference.

Judge Qamar us Zaman while accepting the premier’s plea authorised the PM to appoint a representative to appear in court on his behalf. 

On the other hand, the court also granted a one-day exemption to the Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz.

The court also asked the National Accountability Bureau to submit its response to Hamza’s plea for permanent exemption from appearance.

What is the money laundering reference?

PM Shehbaz is accused of accumulating assets worth Rs7,328 million in connivance during his stint as Punjab chief minister with his co-accused family members, benamidars, front persons and close associations and for developing an organized system of money laundering.

The anti-graft watchdog has nominated a total of 20 individuals in the reference – Shahbaz’s wife Nusrat, his sons Hamza and Suleman, and daughters Rabia Imran and Javeria Ali.