Ittefaq Foundries reference case
On February 14, 2000, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a reference against the owners of Ittefaq Foundries, including Mian Muhammad Sharif, Nawaz Sharif, and Shahbaz Sharif, for failing to repay a loan of PKR 1.06 billion owed to the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP).[9][10] This followed a complaint lodged on December 10, 1999, by the bank's zonal chief and manager at Wapda House, stating that the company had defaulted on payments since 1994.[9] Despite Nawaz Sharif's 1998 pledge to liquidate assets to settle his family's debts, a significant liability remained.[9] Following the military coup in 1999, Nawaz Sharif was exiled, complicating recovery efforts.[9] NAB arrested Mukhtar Hussain, a director of Ittefaq Foundries and a named guarantor for the loan.[9] His arrest was contested in the LHC, which eventually ordered his release—a decision later challenged by NAB in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.[9]
In 2012, NAB informed the Lahore High Court (LHC) that the Sharif family had defaulted on loans totaling Rs 3.8 billion.[11] By December 2011, the family's outstanding debts included Rs 2.31 billion owed to the NBP, Rs 336 million to Habib Bank Limited, Rs 343 million to United Bank Limited, Rs 456.1 million to Muslim Commercial Bank, Rs 202 million to First Punjab Modaraba, Rs 95 million to Bank of Punjab, Rs 60 million to Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), Rs 27 million to NIB Bank (formerly PICIC), and Rs 8 million to the International Commercial Bank of Pakistan (ICBP).[11]
In November 2014, after 15 years, the Supreme Court revisited the case. During the proceedings, NAB's counsel argued that the LHC's ruling hindered ongoing corruption investigations and pushed for its reversal, citing legal precedents that supported cases against guarantors of defaulted loans.[9]
In May 2015, Judge Sohail Nasir of the Accountability Court in Rawalpindi acquitted Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, and other family members in the Ittefaq Foundries case.[12] The court dismissed the National Accountability Bureau's plea to reopen the investigation, citing that the matter had been resolved with the National Bank of Pakistan.[12] The judge noted that the allegations against the foundry appeared to be politically motivated and confirmed that there were no outstanding disputes between the Sharif family and the bank.[12]
