Assets case: Hamza Shahbaz files bail petition in LHC

LAHORE: Opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz moved on Tuesday a petition in the Lahore High Court (LHC) seeking bail in an assets beyond means case.

He filed the petition through his lawyer Amjad Pervez, naming the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman and director general as respondents.

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The petitioner stated that he was arrested in the assets beyond means and money laundering case on June 11, 2019. The corruption watchdog filed the reference in the case after fourteen months while he was indicted after 16 months, he added.

Hamza Shahbaz said 16 people have been named accused in the case while eleven of them are being tried. All accused have their own counsels to defend them, which means the trial is unlikely to conclude any time soon, he argued.

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“Keeping an accused in detention for a longer period is akin to awarding him sentence even before trial,” he contended and pleaded with the court to order his on bail after arrest.