Court issues non-bailable warrants for ex-PM Aziz

He is being investigated in a matter pertaining to illegal appointment of the chairman of the Energy Board

ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Wednesday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for former prime minister Shaukat Aziz in a reference about illegal appointment of the chairman of the Energy Board.

Non-bailable arrest warrants of Aziz and another accused, Arif Alauddin, were issued over their absence from the court that is hearing a reference related to misuse of authority. The court ordered that the arrest be carried out through the relevant embassy.

During a previous hearing, the lawyers for Ismail Qureshi, Shahid Hamid, Yusuf Memon and Naseem Akhtar had submitted applications for exemption from appearance, which the court accepted. Basharat Hussain Shabbir, Umar Farooq, Ghulam Nabi and others had appeared in court.

The National Accountability Bureau while presenting a report about Alauddin had told the court that there was information of his presence in Canada.

The court, issuing the arrest warrants for Aziz, once again called for implementing the arrest order through the relevant embassy. Arrest warrants for co-accused Aladdin were also issued and the hearing was adjourned till February 25.

The court had also issued arrest warrants for the former PM earlier.