Shehbaz Sharif

The Sharif family maintained that NAB/FIA proceedings initiated under Imran Khan's government amounted to political persecution. Conversely, opponents claimed that the PML-N's return to power had facilitated the acquittals.

Attribution

Political responsibility

Pakistan blocked X from February 2024. The Interior Ministry subsequently acknowledged the measure, citing national security, while digital rights activists, journalists and opponents denounced an infringement of freedom of expression.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Shared responsibility

The dispersal of a major PTI demonstration in Islamabad resulted in clashes, mass arrests and allegations of lethal force. Amnesty International called for an independent investigation. However, a private criminal complaint targeting Shehbaz Sharif among others was dismissed in July 2026 for lack of tangible evidence.

The governing coalition rapidly passed amendments to PECA creating, among other things, an offence of intentionally disseminating false information, punishable by imprisonment and a fine, as well as new regulatory bodies. Journalists and civil society organisations denounced a threat to freedom of expression.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Shared responsibility

The Sharif government negotiated an IMF programme of approximately 7 billion dollars, accompanied by revenue-raising targets, tariff reforms and fiscal discipline. The measures prompted strikes and criticism over the cost of living and tax burden.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

In August 2026, Pakistan extended to Pakistani employees of foreign media outlets the requirement to obtain government authorisation for certain travel and reporting outside major cities, prompting protests from international media and rights organisations.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Shared responsibility

Despite an extensive history of anti-corruption investigations, arrests and prosecutions, the main verified cases against Shehbaz Sharif — Ashiana, money laundering/assets proceedings and Ramzan Sugar Mills — ended in acquittals or findings of insufficient evidence.

State of the evidence

Documented

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist not prosecuted

The NAB had accused Shehbaz and Hamza Sharif of using public funds to finance a drainage channel near Ramzan Sugar Mills. An anti-corruption court acquitted them in February 2025.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

Acquitted / conviction overturned

Attribution

Accused

Course of the proceedings

1. Formally charged — Formal charge before the current outcome

The government defended the possibility of trying certain civilians prosecuted over the violence of 9 May 2023 before military courts. In May 2025, a majority of the Supreme Court allowed these trials while providing for an appeal mechanism.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Shared responsibility

Following an election in which Imran Khan-backed candidates won the largest number of individual seats without a governing majority, a PML-N/PPP coalition enabled Shehbaz Sharif to be elected prime minister with 201 votes.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Sharif's coalition passed the 26th Amendment, changing, among other things, the method of selecting the Chief Justice. Legal professionals and international organisations warned of a risk to judicial independence.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

The NAB accused Sharif of abuse of authority in the Ashiana-i-Iqbal project and arrested him in 2018. Following reassessment, the NAB stated that it had found no evidence of corruption or embezzlement; an accountability court acquitted him in November 2023, considering conviction unlikely.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Accused

Course of the proceedings

1. Formally charged — Formal charge before the current outcome

In separate NAB proceedings concerning assets and money laundering, Shehbaz, Hamza and other family members were acquitted in July 2023. The detailed judgment stated that the corruption allegations had not been proved.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Accused

Course of the proceedings

1. Formally charged — Formal charge before the current outcome

Shehbaz Sharif became prime minister in April 2022 following Imran Khan's removal by Parliament, amid extreme polarisation and allegations of "regime change" made by Khan.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

His first government implemented energy price increases, tax measures and other adjustments demanded in negotiations with the IMF, generating considerable unpopularity during a period of inflation and a reserves crisis.

Attribution

Direct responsibility

The FIA had accused Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza of money laundering and corruption involving approximately 16 billion rupees through employees' accounts and transactions linked to family businesses. A special court acquitted them in October 2022.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

Acquitted / conviction overturned

Attribution

Accused

Course of the proceedings

1. Formally charged — Formal charge before the current outcome

In 2019, the Daily Mail published allegations linking Sharif and his family to misappropriation of funds and British aid. In 2022, the newspaper withdrew the allegations in question and apologised.

While leader of the opposition, Shehbaz Sharif was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau and detained for several months in cases involving his assets, foreign remittances and alleged money laundering.

Attribution

Accused

On 17 June 2014, a police operation against Pakistan Awami Tehreek activists in Model Town, Lahore, left fourteen people dead and many injured. A judicial inquiry identified serious failings by the government and police, and an FIR was ordered against several officials, including Shehbaz Sharif.

Attribution

Shared responsibility

The Orange Line project launched under Shehbaz Sharif's provincial government was challenged over its impact on heritage, displacement and the environment. The Lahore High Court halted work near several historic sites and criticised certain NOCs; the Supreme Court subsequently allowed construction to continue subject to conditions.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility