Hamza appears before NAB

PML-N leader secured pre-arrest bail till April 17 to thwart any attempt of arrests by NAB

LAHORE: Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz arrived at the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) office in Lahore on Friday.

He was summoned in a case pertaining to assets beyond means of income and money laundering. The anti-graft watchdog had sought documents and details of all assets, domestic and foreign, owned by Hamza.

The accountability watchdog also sought transactions details of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader's bank accounts and that of his family members.



Last week, NAB tried to raid the Sharif family's Lahore residence for two consecutive days – an attempt to arrest Hamza. However, the PML-N workers and guards resisted the arrest, resulting in NAB registering an FIR against Hamza’s guards for torturing and hurling threats at their team.

Later, a division bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) accepted pre-arrest bail request of Punjab legislator and asked NAB authorities not to arrest Hamza till April 17.

The LHC bench, headed by Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan, issued notices to NAB, seeking para-wise comments by April 17, and directed Hamza to furnish bail bonds of Rs10million.