PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and several others were acquitted by a Lahore accountability court in the Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme reference. The court also acquitted co-accused individuals including Fawad Hasan Fawad, Ahad Khan Cheema, and others. The controversial housing projects launched in 2010 were the subject of the accusations against Shehbaz, who was accused of causing financial losses by interfering in the contract for the low-cost housing scheme. He and others were indicted in February 2019, but in May 2023, NAB cleared Shehbaz of any wrongdoing. The court’s decision to acquit him was met with congratulations from former Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb. Cheema, who currently serves as the special assistant to the caretaker Prime Minister, also expressed gratitude for the court’s decision.