From Abid Usman
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday restrained the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from arresting PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif in an assets case against him.
A two-judge bench headed by Justice Tariq Abbasi granted bail to theopposition leader after hearing initial arguments from his lawyer and a NABcounsel on his petition through which he sought pre-arrest bail.
The bench directed him to furnish a surety bond of Rs500,000 to secure thebail until June 17.
Shehbaz Sharif appeared before the bench as a large number of PML-N leaders and workers also gathered on the LHC premises to show solidarity to their leader in utter disregard for social distancing protocols introduced tocontain the spread of the coronavirus.
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) teams were present at the entrance to the high court to apprehend the opposition leader in case the LHC doesn’t grant him bail. A heavy contingent of law enforcers was also present to avert any untoward incident.
The bench directed the anti-corruption watchdog to submit its response to the petition by next hearing. On Tuesday afternoon, a NAB team along with a heavy contingent of police raided the residence of Shehbaz Sharif in Model Town. It remained outside his residence for more than an hour as the law enforcement personnel cordoned off roads leading to the house.
However, the team returned as Shehbaz Sharif was not present at home. The NAB team carried out a raid at the residence of Shehbaz Sharif after he refused to appear before the accountability watchdog in the assets beyond means case. He, however, opted to submit a written statement to the accountability watchdog in response to a questionnaire handed over to him.
Sharif through his lawyer Amjad Pervaiz moved the bail petition, citing National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal and others as respondents. He claimed in his petition that the corruption watchdog’s assets beyond means case against him is based on mala fide intentions. It launched the probe against him under the incumbent government’s influence, he alleged. The Lahore High Court on Wednesday granted pre-arrest bail to Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif in the assets beyond means and money laundering case.
A two-member bench of the LHC comprising Justice Tariq Abbasi and Justice Farooq Haider granted bail against surety bonds worth Rs500,000 and further ordered National Accountability (NAB) from arresting Shehbaz till June 17.
During the hearing today, Shehbaz’s counsel told the court that his client was summoned on June 2.
To this, the court asked the NAB prosecutor why they had summoned him on June 2 if the warrant was issued before. ““The warrant for his arrest was issued after we received the relevant material,” the NAB prosecutor told the court,” the NAB prosecutor told the court.
Shehbaz’s counsel further told the court that his client had provided all the documents that NAB had asked for. He added Shehbaz had been summoned on October 5, 2018, and had been arrested in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case. “NAB continued to conduct an injury while Shehbaz was in remand for 63 days,” he said. The court then ordered NAB not to arrest the PML-N leader till June 17 and directed Shehbaz to submit bonds worth Rs500,000.
According to media, PML-N leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanullah, Fazal Chaudhry and Rana Arshad had been present at the court for the hearing. Speaking to media, after the hearing, Sanaullah said that when a petition had been filed in the court, it was obligatory upon law enforcement agencies to tell their side to the court. “Despite Shehbaz submitting a petition in court, NAB raided his and other PML-N leaders’ houses,” he said.
Sanullah added that even roads leading up to the courthouse had been sealed today. “After the chief justice took notice of this, the blockades from roads were cleared,” he said, adding that he was hopeful the court would play its part in stopping this political revenge.
Earlier, authorities had cordoned off roads leading to the court to avoid any mishap. On June 1, Shehbaz’s legal team had filed a petition before he was required to appear before a combined investigation team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). However, the petition could not be fixed for hearing before the division bench, constituted to hear NAB-related pleas, and Shehbaz did not appear before the bureau too. The PML-N leader’s petition is at No 2 on the cause-list of urgent cases before the bench. Shehbaz, in his petition, stated that the corruption watchdog’s assets beyond means inquiry against him was based on mala fide intentions as it had been initiated at the behest of the incumbent government.
