New LHC bench to hear Hamza bail pleas

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) chief justice on Wednesday constituted a new two-member bench to hear bail petitions of  the Punjab Assembly’s opposition leader Hamza Shehbaz in three different graft cases.

The bench comprising Justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Shahid Waheed Khan will hear the petitions of the PML-N leader in Ramzan Sugar Mills, Saaf Pani and assets beyond means cases.

The bench, under the stewardship of Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, had earlier on Tuesday referred the petitions to the LHC chief justice to fix them before another bench after Hamza expressed mistrust in the bench. Justice Sardar Ahmed Naeem was other member of the bench.

During the hearing, the opposition leader said he respected the judiciary and was not afraid of his arrest.

Referring to a controversial interview of the NAB chairman, he contended that the bureau’s head claimed that Hamza will not be able to hide behind the bail as the bench had changed now. He questioned if the NAB chairman had become powerful enough to get a bench changed or bail revoked.

He, therefore, requested the bench to transfer the case to another bench to hear and decide it.

Granting Hamza’s request, Justice Najafi referred the matter to the chief justice to fix it before any other bench. The bench also extended his pre-arrest bail till the next hearing.