Judge irked over Hamza’s late arrival in court

FIA prosecutor says NA’s session does not mean court proceedings be ignored

LAHORE:

A special court central judge expressed his displeasure over the late presence of Hamza Shehbaz, Shehbaz Sharif in an alleged money laundering case of Rs25 billion.

Meanwhile, the judge accepted Mian Shehbaz Sharif’s application wherein exemption from personal appearance before court was sought owing the National Assembly’s proceedings.

Finally, the judge extended pre-arrest bails of aforesaid by April 4. As proceedings commenced, the judge asked where is Hamza Shehbaz Sharif at which the counsel told the court he was on his way and will reach within a few minutes.

“What do you mean I should wait for him in the court? His bail will be dismissed if he does not reach on time,” the judge remarked.

Read: Shehbaz, Hamza to be indicted on 25th

The counsel implored the court that there is a traffic jam on roads owing to the cricket team’s movement. Hamza Shehbaz will be reaching within a few minutes.

On a point of Shehbaz Sharif’s absence, the FIA’s prosecutor told the court that Shehbaz Sharif should have applied, seeking exemption from personal appearance in court, before National Assembly’s Speaker rather than the court.

He requested the court for not to entertain the application.

As Shhehbaz Sharif’s lawyer opposed FIA’s argument, the FIA prosecutor told the court that NA’s session does not mean the court proceedings be ignored.

Everyone knows about political developments, especially the no-trust motion is being carried out so Shehbaz Sharif is there in NA for rendering his constitutional obligations, the counsel argued.

Meanwhile, a lawyer objected that neither FIA submitted any reply nor completed yet its arguments on an application submitted before this court relating to FIA’s jurisdiction to deal with this case confined to an accused Muhammad Usman.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 26^th, 2022.