NAB gets more time to submit comments on Rana Mashood's petition

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday gave the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) more time to submit comments on a petition filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Rana Mashood challenging the bureau’s call-up notice in a graft case.

A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Ali Baqir Najafi, adjourned the hearing until August 7.

The court directed NAB’s lawyer to submit its comments on the petition by the next hearing.

At a previous hearing, the bench had restrained the corruption watchdog from taking any action against the former Punjab minister in pursuance of its call-up notice in connection with investigation into the graft case.

The Ministry of Interior has already submitted its reply in the LHC on the petition, stating Mashood was blacklisted on the corruption watchdog’s request on June 21 this year as it apprehended he might flee abroad.

Earlier, on June 29, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had barred the former Punjab Education and Sports minister from flying abroad at Lahore airport.

Rana Mashood was offloaded from a private airline’s aircraft by immigration officers of FIA at 2 am because of his name being on the blacklist over his involvement in the alleged embezzlement of funds of the Punjab Youth Festival. He was to fly to the United States.

The NAB has launched a probe into alleged misappropriation of millions of rupees of the Punjab Youth Festival in 2011 and 2012.