Court wants NAB to file reference against Asif at the earliest

LAHORE: An accountability court directed on Thursday the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file a reference against PML-N leader Khawaja Asif in the assets case at the earliest.

The former foreign minister appeared before the court as Judge Sheikh Sajjad Ahmed resumed hearing.

During the hearing, the judge directed the corruption watchdog to file the asset reference against the accused at the earliest. The court extended his judicial remand until April 22.

On March 29, the Lahore High Court (LHC) issued a notice to the NAB to submit comments on a petition moved by Khawaja Asif seeking post-arrest bail.

After a preliminary hearing, a two-member bench headed by Justice Sarfraz Dogar put the bureau on notice to file its response to the bail petition of the PML-N leader by next hearing on April 14.

Asif through his counsel Barrister Haider Rasul Mirza filed the petition which stated that the NAB had arrested him from Islamabad last year on December 29.

He contended that the corruption watchdog apprehended him despite the fact that he had provided it all the relevant records regarding his assets. Besides, the same record is also available with th Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). Khawaja Asif pleaded with the bench to order his release on bail.