Daily Times

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif’s family on Thursday approached an accountability court in Lahore to have their movable and immovable properties unfrozen.

The opposition leader’s wife Nusrat Shehbaz and son Hamza Shahbaz moved an application challenging the court verdict in regard to freezing of their assets.

Both applicants filed the application through their lawyers, which has been fixed for hearing on Jan 3.

They state that the decision to freeze their properties is incorrect and request the court to order the authorities concerned to unfreeze their assets.

Last month, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore moved to get all movable and immovable properties of Shehbaz and his family members frozen in connection with a probe against them in the income beyond means and money laundering cases.

The bureau wrote to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), director general of the excise and taxation department, Model Town Housing Society secretary, Judicial Employees Cooperative Housing Society secretary and Galliat Development Authority director general, asking them to freeze their properties with immediate effect.

Earlier on Dec 11, the accountability court had ordered authorities to freeze properties of the PML-N president and his family. The court, in its verdict, directed authorities concerned to freeze all assets of Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shahbaz, Suleman Shehbaz and two wives of Shehbaz – Nusrat Shehbaz and Tehmina Durrani.

Separately, PML-N leader Mian Javed Latif on Thursday approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) seeking bail before arrest to avoid his possible arrest by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in connection with an inquiry into his assets.

He stated in his petition that the anti-corruption watchdog has launched a probe against him on allegations of amassing wealth through illegal means, adding that the provincial anti-corruption watchdog had already wrapped up an asset inquiry against him.

“I am being subjected to vengeance for being a PML-N MNA,” he alleged, pleading with the high court to restrain NAB from taking action against him and approve his pre-arrest bail. Earlier, on Dec 24, the National Accountability Bureau had summoned Javed Latif to appear on 1st January for questioning in a case pertaining to an inquiry about assets beyond means of income.

On the other hand, former minister for finance Mifath Ismail was released from Adial Jail on bail on Thursday after issuance of his release order by an accountability court.

Accountability court issued release order of the former minister and PML-N leader in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) scandal after his lawyer submitted Rs 10 million surety bond in the court.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had granted post-arrest bail to Miftah Ismail in the case on December 23.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Mian Gul Hassan approved the bail for the PML-N leader subject to submission of surety bonds worth Rs 10 million.