The court resolved the petition that NAB Lahore had filed in 2020, seeking the return of Shehbaz Sharif from abroad.
LAHORE:
The Lahore High Court on Monday disposed of 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.
During the hearing of the NAB petition against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, NAB Prosecutor Waris Ali Janjua informed the court that Shehbaz Sharif had been acquitted in 2023 in both the Ashiana Housing Reference and the Ramzan Sugar Mills Reference.
Read: LHC acted against Nawaz and Maryam for ‘misuse’ of funds
He argued that in light of the acquittals, NAB’s petition had lost its relevance.
Accepting the position, the court disposed of the petition. NAB Lahore had filed the petition in 2020, seeking the return of Shehbaz Sharif from abroad.
In a separate hearing, the same court accepted a petition filed by 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, making the petition ineffective.
Read more: LHC seeks views on petition against PM
Subsequently, the court ruled on the petition as infructuous.
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.
