LHC rejects NAB’s petition to change the bench hearing Shehbaz's bail plea

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday rejected the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) petition for a change of the bench that was hearing the bail plea filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif.

While hearing the NAB’s plea, LHC Chief Justice Sardar Mehmood Shamim Khan first reserved the verdict and later rejected NAB’s plea in its decision.

The accountability watchdog had asked the LHC chief justice to transfer the two-member bench comprising Justice Malik Shahzad and Justice Mirza Waqas to the bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najfi.

On October 6, the NAB had arrested the PML-N president in the Ashiana Iqbal Housing Scheme case.

Lawyer of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Akram Qureshi is likely to present crucial documents in the case as hearing on the bail petition filed by Shehbaz is underway at the high court.

The high court had clubbed bail pleas of Shehbaz and Fawad Hassan Fawad.

The president PML-N had approached the court seeking bail in Ashyana Housing scam and Ramazan Sugar Mills case.

The LHC, on the request of the NAB special prosecutor, had last week adjourned the hearing of Shehbaz Sharif’s bail plea till February 11.

As the hearing went under way on February 6, NAB’s counsel told the court that PLDC’s board of directors had to give the housing contract but it had not happened. The counsel had said that Shehbaz Sharif as the then chief minister had cancelled the contract and announced to re-exercise the process.