Get yourself tested for coronavirus, LHC tells Shehbaz

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday extended interim bail granted to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif until July 7.

A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Sardar Ahmed Naeem, directed him to get himself tested for the novel coronavirus at the Institute of Public Health on July 2.

Shehbaz’s lawyer moved a fresh application in the LHC, requesting it to grant his client exemption from personal appearance in today’s hearing due to the virus saying he is feeling symptoms of the highly contagious disease even after 14 days of being diagnosed with it.

A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) lawyer told the judges that Shehbaz Sharif was to take a COVID-19 test on June 25 but he has not done so yet. He will keep asking the court for more time this way, he added.

The bench questioned how can Shehbaz call himself a COVID-19 patient even if he has not undergone a relevant test to determine whether he has contracted the infection or not.

Earlier, on June 3, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had restrained the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from arresting Shehbaz Sharif in a money-laundering case case against him.

The bench directed him to furnish a surety bond of Rs500,000 to secure the bail until June 17.