SHC irked by Firdous Shamim Naqvi's absence in land allotment case

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has expressed outrage over the absence of Firdous Shamim Naqvi in the hearing of his bail petition in land allotment case, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

Naqvi’s absence irked the SHC judge who questioned his counsel about the reason for being absent in the hearing. To this, the counsel replied that he was not aware of his location and the reason for his absence.

The judge remarked that the accused had also remained absent in the previous hearings. The lawyer sought time from the court to contact him.

Later, the high court directed Firdous Shamim Naqvi to ensure his appearance in the next hearing.

The hearing was adjourned till February 25.

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The Sindh High Court (SHC) heard the bail petition of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Firdous Shamim Naqvi in land allotment case. However, the PTI lawmaker did not appear in the hearing.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had launched an inquiry against PTI MPA Firdous Shamim Naqvi over the allotment of land on a 30-year lease to Habib group of companies in 2006 where he was working as the director in the company.

After receiving a call-up notice from the anti-corruption watchdog, Naqvi had moved to the high court for obtaining protective pre-arrest bail in November last year. He had been granted protective bail to the PTI lawmaker in the case.