The court ruled on the petition filed by NAB Lahore in 2020, seeking the return of Shehbaz Sharif from abroad
LAHORE:
The Lahore High Court on Monday ruled on the 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.
While hearing the NAB petition against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, NAB prosecutor Waris Ali Janjua informed the court that Shehbaz Sharif was acquitted in 2023 in the Ashiana housing reference and the Ramzan sugar factories reference.
Read: LHC attacks Nawaz and Maryam for ‘misuse’ of funds
He argued that in light of the acquittals, the NAB petition had lost its relevance.
Accepting this position, the court ruled on the motion. NAB Lahore had filed the petition in 2020, seeking the return of Shehbaz Sharif from abroad.
In a separate hearing, the same court considered a petition filed by the NAB chairman 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.
Learn more: LHC seeks comments on petition against PM
The court then ruled the motion as unsuccessful.
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.
