No headway made
Sharif family hearing adjourned until October 25 by LHC.
LAHORE:
A division bench of the Lahore High Court adjourned hearing of seven identical appeals of the Sharif family until October 25 on account of the absence of the Sharif brothers’ counsel from the court.
The court was told that Shahid Hamid, the counsel for the brothers, was busy in Islamabad and therefore could not appear before the court.
The Sharif family filed the appeals against attachment of their properties and shares by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after punishment to Mian Nawaz Sharif by accountability courts in 2001.
The division bench comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah heard the appeal petitions on Wednesday after the LHC chief justice, Khawaja Muhammad Sharif, rejected the NAB’s application that the matter be heard by a larger bench due to the importance of the cases.
The CJ returned the appeals to the bench already hearing the cases, with the observation that a full bench was not required.
At the last hearing, counsel for the Sharif brothers had opposed the NAB’s plea arguing that it was just a delaying tactic.
The Sharif family submitted that the NAB was not releasing their properties, which it had seized in 2001 to recover the fine imposed on the PML-N chief, Nawaz Sharif, by an accountability court in a reference involving the purchase of Russian helicopters and an anti terrorism court in the airplane hijacking case. The appeals were filed by Mian Shahbaz Sharif, Sabina Abbas, daughter of Mian Abbas for recovery of papers of Hudabiya Paper Mills, Hudabiya Engineering Services, Chaudhry Sugar Mills, Ramazan Sugar Mills and Hamza Spinning Mills and the said companies’ share certificates from the NAB.
In the appeals the Sharif family submitted that the conviction had been set aside by the Supreme Court on October 30, 2000, but despite repeated applications the NAB had not released the seized properties.
The appellants argued that it was unlawful on the part of the NAB to recover the fines imposed on Nawaz Sharif from other members of his family.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 21st, 2010.
A division bench of the Lahore High Court adjourned hearing of seven identical appeals of the Sharif family until October 25 on account of the absence of the Sharif brothers’ counsel from the court.
The court was told that Shahid Hamid, the counsel for the brothers, was busy in Islamabad and therefore could not appear before the court.
The Sharif family filed the appeals against attachment of their properties and shares by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after punishment to Mian Nawaz Sharif by accountability courts in 2001.
The division bench comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah heard the appeal petitions on Wednesday after the LHC chief justice, Khawaja Muhammad Sharif, rejected the NAB’s application that the matter be heard by a larger bench due to the importance of the cases.
The CJ returned the appeals to the bench already hearing the cases, with the observation that a full bench was not required.
At the last hearing, counsel for the Sharif brothers had opposed the NAB’s plea arguing that it was just a delaying tactic.
The Sharif family submitted that the NAB was not releasing their properties, which it had seized in 2001 to recover the fine imposed on the PML-N chief, Nawaz Sharif, by an accountability court in a reference involving the purchase of Russian helicopters and an anti terrorism court in the airplane hijacking case. The appeals were filed by Mian Shahbaz Sharif, Sabina Abbas, daughter of Mian Abbas for recovery of papers of Hudabiya Paper Mills, Hudabiya Engineering Services, Chaudhry Sugar Mills, Ramazan Sugar Mills and Hamza Spinning Mills and the said companies’ share certificates from the NAB.
In the appeals the Sharif family submitted that the conviction had been set aside by the Supreme Court on October 30, 2000, but despite repeated applications the NAB had not released the seized properties.
The appellants argued that it was unlawful on the part of the NAB to recover the fines imposed on Nawaz Sharif from other members of his family.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 21st, 2010.