Pakistan: Opposition leader, son indicted in graft case

KARACHI, Pakistan

A Pakistani court on Tuesday indicted opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif and his son in another corruption case, local media reported.

The two pleaded not guilty to the charges framed by an accountability court in northeastern city of Lahore, according to local broadcaster Dawn News.

Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz, who is opposition leader in Punjab provincial assembly, have been charged for “misuse of authority and public funds” for their family sugar mill, the broadcaster said.

The two are already facing multiple corruption cases. Sharif, the three-time chief minister Punjab, is on bail in a housing scam.

Sharif, head of main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party, is accused of canceling a housing contract and transferring it to his favorite company for the construction of low-cost houses for the poor in Punjab.

He denies the allegations saying he canceled the contract because it was granted to a blacklisted company.