Pakistan’s renovated Gaddafi Stadium to open tomorrow with fireworks, music

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.

PESHAWAR: Almost a dozen well-armed militants mounted an overnight assault on a police check post in Pakistan’s restive Karak district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, triggering a gunbattle that left three policemen dead and six others wounded on Thursday, police said.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militancy in KP, which borders Afghanistan, since a fragile truce between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the state broke down in November 2022.
Most of these attacks have targeted police personnel and security forces, though civilians and other government functionaries have also been affected.
Pakistani officials have attributed the uptick in militant violence to cross-border attacks from Afghanistan, accusing the administration in Kabul of “facilitating” TTP fighters, though Afghan authorities deny the allegation.
“Militants started an attack on Bahadur Khel police check post of Karak with small and heavy weapons but police officers on duty offered stiff resistance,” Shaukat Khan, the district’s police spokesman, said. “During the exchange of fire, three police officials were martyred and six others wounded. But militants had to flee after police reinforcement arrived.”
Khan said the dead and wounded were shifted to the district headquarters hospital for treatment soon after the incident.
Speaking to the media after attending the funeral prayers of the slain police officers, provincial police chief Zulfiqar Hameed said law enforcement personnel fought bravely with the militants for two long hours.
“The terrorists wanted to take over the police post but their attempt was thwarted. We will chase terrorists everywhere and will take strict action against those involved in this heinous assault,” he added.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on the TTP that has frequently targeted police and security personnel in the province.
KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur condemned the assault and directed the police chief to take all measures to identify the perpetrators.
He expressed his condolences over the death of the three police officers and prayed for the swift recovery of those wounded in the attack.
“The provincial government will not leave the bereaved families alone and will provide them with all support. Police have rendered immense sacrifices to protect the lives and property of people,” he added.
The TTP and other militants have stepped up attacks against security forces in the country’s two western provinces, alongside targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials, in recent months.
Last week, four soldiers of the paramilitary Levies force were killed after they were targeted by gunfire and an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Dera Ismail Khan district of the province.
Earlier this month, the military said 18 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a militant attack in southwestern Balochistan province.
The military added that it had killed at least 23 militants in subsequent clearance operations.