Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday extended the interim bail of former President Asif Ali Zardari’s aide Amjad Ikhlaq till May 27, in a fake accounts case.
A division bench comprising Justice Mohsin Akhter Kiyani and Justice Fayyaz Ahmed Anjam Jandran heard the pre-arrest bail petition of Amjad Ikhlaq. National Accountability Bureau (NAB) also submitted its comments against the petition during this day hearing after which the court adjourned the case till next date. The court directed the two sides to give final arguments on next date of hearing.
Shehbaz family assets case
An accountability court Tuesday adjourned hearing of assets beyond means and money laundering case against the Shehbaz Sharif family till May 18.
Duty Judge Sheikh Sajjad Ahmad conducted the case proceedings, wherein Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz appeared and got his attendance marked.
However, Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif did not appear. A counsel for him submitted an application for exemption from personal appearance in the wake of rising coronavirus cases. The court granted one-time exemption while allowing the application. The court directed Shehbaz Sharif to ensure his presence on the next date of hearing, May 18. The court also ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) witnesses to ensure their presence on the next date of hearing. The Lahore High Court (LHC) had granted bail to Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz in the case.
NAB had nominated 16 persons as accused in the case. However, only 10, out of 16, had been indicted yet. Besides Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz, Javeria Ali, Fazl Dad Abbasi, Rashid Karamat, Muhammad Usman, Masroor Anwar, Nisar Ahmad, Shoaib Qamar and Qasim Qayyum had been indicted in the case. However, Suleman Shehbaz, Nusrat Shehbaz, Rabia Imran, Syed Muhammad Tahir Naqvi, Haroon Yousafzai and another could not be indicted due to their absence from court proceedings.
In a reference, comprising 55 volumes, the Bureau alleged that the Shehbaz Sharif family committed massive money laundering of Rs 7 billion. Yasir Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmad, Shahid Rafique and Aftab have been declared approvers in the reference.
LNG reference
Accountability Court (AC)-II of Islamabad on Tuesday adjourned hearing on LNG reference till May 18, against former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and ex-finance advisor Miftah Ismail. AC-II Judge Muhammad Azam Khan heard the graft reference filed by National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Shahid Khaqan Abbasi appeared before the court along with his legal team. At the outset of hearing, the court recorded the statement of prosecution witness Allah Nawaz and made the documents produced by him as case record. The court summoned two witness including Allah Nawaz and Abdul Rasheed Jokheo on May 18.
References against Pervaiz Ashraf
Accountability Court (AC) of Islamabad on Tuesday adjourned hearing till May 31, against former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in rental power references. AC-III Judge Syed Asghar Ali heard the graft references pertaining to Reshman, Gulf and Satiana power projects filed by National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The court adjourned hearing on the cases without further proceeding due to absence of defence lawyers.
Lawyers’ licenses
A larger bench of Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday further extended the suspension of licenses of 23 lawyers on misconduct case in IHC building attack case. The court also suspended the license of former president district bar association Riasat Ali Azad. A larger bench headed by Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the case pertaining to misconduct committed by lawyers during attack on IHC building. President District Bar Association Fareed Kaif and others appeared before the court. The court instructed the senior lawyers to prepare a list of lawyers who were involved in the incident of vandalizing the high court building during a violent protest. President DBA requested the court to ignore the matter, adding that all this happened in sudden. He said that the lawyers were ready to apologize on the incident to this the chief justice said that this was not a matter to seek apology. Fareed Kaif contended that the whole legal fraternity had become a show before the people of country, adding that it was a mistake and they admit it. The chief justice asked that whether the bar wanted to ignore the people who were involved in the incident. After this, the court adjourned the case with above directions.
