Court faux pas as Ahsan Iqbal shows up for reference hearing a day earlier

Unlike other political leaders who often find excuses to skip court hearings, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Ahsan Iqbal in an apparent haste reached an Islamabad accountability court a day earlier than he was asked to.

Ahsan, who is also a former interior minister, faced an awkward situation on Tuesday when he was told by the court staff that his case, Narowal Sports Complex reference, was fixed for hearing on August 26.

After realising his mistake, he returned home.

Last month, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had sought more time from the court to file reference against Iqbal. The court adjourned the hearing till August 26 after granting the additional time.

During the hearing, the judge asked the NAB officials as to why the reference against Ahsan Iqbal was not filed, to which they replied that they had sent the reference to NAB Headquarters for approval.

Ahsan is accused of misusing funds of the federal government and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) for a sports city in Narowal.

NAB had announced to initiate a probe into alleged violation of rules in the construction of the National Sports City project – a day after its inauguration by the then president Mamnoon Hussain.