Pakistan: Opposition leader placed on no-fly list

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan Tuesday barred opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif from going abroad due to ongoing corruption cases against him, local media reported.

Shehbaz Sharif, leader of the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz group) and the younger brother of jailed former Premier Nawaz Sharif, has been placed on a no-fly list, which means he cannot travel abroad for the next 30 days, local broadcaster Geo News reported.

Shehbaz, the three-time chief minister of the country’s largest Punjab province, has been barred from traveling abroad on the request of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the state-run watchdog which is pursuing multiple corruption cases against him, Geo News reported.

Last week, in an anti-corruption court, Shehbaz plead not guilty to charges over his alleged involvement in a housing scam.

Shehbaz, who is currently on bail, likely was interested in flying to London, where his newborn grandson is set to undergo heart surgery.

Shehbaz 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.

His elder brother is currently serving a seven-year jail term for corruption.