The court dismissed the petition filed by NAB Lahore in 2020 seeking the return of Shehbaz Sharif from abroad
LAHORE:
The Lahore High Court on Monday disposed of petitions filed by the National Accountability Bureau against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz after declaring them infructuous.
A two-member bench headed by Justice Amjad Rafiq heard the petitions.
During the hearing of NAB’s petition against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, NAB prosecutor Waris Ali Janjua informed the court that Shehbaz Sharif had been acquitted in 2023 in both Ashiana Housing Reference and Ramzan Sugar Mills Reference.
Read: LHC moved against Nawaz, Maryam for ‘misappropriation’ of funds
He argued that in view of the acquittals, NAB’s petition had lost its relevance.
After accepting the position, the court dismissed the petition. NAB Lahore had filed the petition in 2020 seeking Shehbaz Sharif’s return from abroad.
In a separate hearing, the same bench took up a petition filed by the Chairman NAB against Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. Senior prosecutor Janjua told the court that Maryam Nawaz had already been acquitted in the NAB case, rendering the petition ineffective.
Read more: LHC seeks input for petition against PM
The court subsequently dismissed the petition as fruitless.
It is pertinent to note that the LHC had earlier granted bail to Maryam Nawaz in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case and ordered her release, while the NAB had approached the court in March 2021 seeking cancellation of her bail.
