Fawad Chaudhry blames weak prosecution for dismissal of reopening Hudaibiya case

ISLAMABAD: Commenting on Supreme Court’s ruling in Hudaibiya Paper Mills reference, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry on Friday said the decision was expected owing to National Accountability Bureau (NAB)’s weak prosecution.

Talking to media outside the court building, Chaudhry said the NAB was failed to draw the judges’ attention to Rs 1.2 billion corruption case against Sharifs. He said the three-member bench was not guided thoroughly as the prosecution failed to attach basic documents.

Expressing reservation on weak prosecution, the PTI spokesperson said his party would review the detailed judgment on NAB plea once it is released.

“PTI has ‘serious’ reservations over the NAB’s prosecution,” he added.

He said the case involved plundering of public wealth and the misuse of authority by Sharifs while deploring the top court’s verdict.

“If PTI gains power, the matter will be taken to its logical conclusion,” he asserted.

Earlier today, the top court dismissed the NAB’s plea seeking reopening of the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case against the Sharif family members.

The three-judge bench, headed by Justice Mushir Alam and comprising Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, was hearing the appeal filed by the NAB against a Lahore High Court (LHC) verdict, quashing Hudaibiya Paper Mills case against the Sharif family.

The bench dismissed the appeal through a short order after hearing arguments of a NAB prosecutor at length.

Hudaibiya Paper Mills reference

The Musharraf government had launched an investigation against the Sharif family members back in 2000 for their alleged involvement in money-laundering.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who is a close aide and relative of the Sharifs, had given a confessional statement before a magistrate, alleging that Sharif brothers used the Hudaibiya Paper Mills as cover for money laundering during late 1990s.

Dar later retracted his statement and claimed that the statement was gleaned under duress.

According to the Hudaibiya reference, the Sharif family had been accused of setting up Hudaibiya Paper Mills Ltd to launder illegal money.

A joint investigation team set up to investigate the Sharif family’s offshore properties had recommended in its report that the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case should be investigated afresh.