Daily Times

Following the split decision on Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif’s bail petition, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday formed a new bench to decide upon the matter. Chief Justice LHC Qasim Khan formed a three-member bench to hear the bail plea of Shehbaz Sharif. The new bench is headed by Justice Ali Baqir Naji, while Justice Aalia Neelam and Justice Shahbaz Rizvi would be the member of the bench.

Earlier, the judges of the LHC bench came up with a split decision on Sharif’s release on bail. Justice Sarfraz Dogar, who headed the bench, allowed the petition while its other member Justice Asjad Javed Ghural dismissed the same on merits. In his dissenting order, Justice Ghural also accused the senior judge of issuing the bail granting short order ‘unilaterally’. Meanwhile, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday decided to auction all the properties of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his dependents. The watchdog would file an application in an accountability court on the matter.

Last year in September, Islamabad Accountability Court-II judge Azam Khan had declared Nawaz a proclaimed offender in the gift repository – Toshakhana – case after the PML-N supreme leader failed to appear before the court despite repeated summonses. The court had also initiated the process to confiscate Nawaz’s properties and directed NAB to make his arrest through Interpol. Nawaz has been in London since November 2019 when the government gave him rare permission to fly abroad to get medical treatment for debilitating health conditions. Separately, the NAB has approached the Supreme Court to get the bail of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shahbaz canceled. The NAB has asked the apex court in its appeal to annul a decision of the LHC granting bail to the Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly on February 24. The accountability watchdog pleaded that the LHC neglected the facts in the case as his case does not pertain to hardship. “Granting bail to Hamza Shahbaz will create a hindrance in the NAB inquiry,” the plea read, while demanding to cancel the LHC order.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on February 24 had granted post-arrest bail to PML-N leader and Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz in the assets beyond means case.