An accountability court in Lahore on Monday indicted Pakistan Opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif in a corruption case. Sharif, 67, the president of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) was indicted in the Ashiana Iqbal Housing scam, Dawn reported.

Sharif is accused of ordering the cancellation of a contract given to bidder Chaudhry Latif and Sons for the low-cost housing scheme in 2010. The contract was then awarded to Lahore Casa Developers, a proxy group of Paragon City Private Limited. This resulted in a loss of Pakistan Rs 193 million (9.86 crore Indian rupees) to the exchequer, the daily reported.

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A further loss of Pakistani Rs 715 million (36.5 crore Indian rupees) was caused when Sharif allegedly ordered the Punjab Land Development Company to assign the Ashiyana-i-Iqbal project to the Lahore Development Authority, which then awarded the contract to Lahore Casa Developers. The project ultimately failed.

Sharif is also accused of directing the Punjab Land Development Company to award the consultancy services contract to Engineering Consultancy Services Punjab for Pakistani Rs 192 million (Rs 9.81 crore), when Nespak, an engineering consultancy, had quoted the price to be Pakistani Rs 35 million (Rs 1.78 crore).

However, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) chief rejected the charges, and said he would appeal against the verdict. “The nation will see that it is the most fake case in history,” he said in court. “The National Accountability Bureau is a liar.” However, judge Syed Najamul Hassan said the proceedings will prove if the case is fake or real.

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Sharif claimed he was accused not of corruption but of accumulating assets disproportionate to his income, The Express Tribune reported. “I cancelled the contracts of the contractors who gave me fake bank guarantees,” he said.

Sharif also claimed he was ill and needed rest. “Even at the moment, I am wearing a belt due to pain,” he said.