LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday sought more arguments from the federal government on maintainability of a petition seeking directives for the authorities concerned to freeze all assets and bank accounts owned by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family members.
Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh passed the order on petition moved by Barrister Javed Iqbal Jafree. The judge also directed the registrar office to find out the lost record of the old identical petition which originally was filed in 1992.
During the hearing, the lawyer contended that Nawaz Sharif had flown abroad while other Sharif family members might fly abroad to avoid NAB references ordered by the Supreme Court in Panama papers case. He said there was possibility that the members of Sharif family, if flew abroad, would not come back to the country for accountability.
He prayed the court to order authorities concerned to freeze bank accounts and other assets worth billion of rupees owned by Sharif family inside and outside the country.
On it, Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh issued notice to the federal government and sought reply to argue on maintainability of the petition. The court adjourned the hearing till after the Eidul Azha holidays.
The petitioner had made party to 64 persons including ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Kulsoom Nawaz, Hussain Nawaz, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Ch Shujaat Hussain, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan and his ex- wife Jemima Goldsmith, Javed Hashmi, former convicted prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and his wife, former president Asif Ali Zardari and his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Faryal Talpur, Ch Nisar Ali Khan, former president Gen ® Pervez Musharraf, Rehman Malik, PML-Q chief, former chief minister Ch Pervez Elahi, former federal ministers Faisal Saleh Hayat, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Maulana Fazalur Rehman, ex-governor Sindh Ishratul Ibad, former governor and chief minister Punjab Ghulam Mustafa Khar, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Farooq Sattar, Jahangir Tareen, Sheikh Rasheed, Malik Riaz Hussain of Bahria Town, two former Chief Justices of LHC Khwaja Muhammad Sharif and Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry, former presidents of SCBA Hamid Khan, Asma Jahangir, Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan and his wife Bushra Aitzaz, Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Najam Aziz Sethi, former minister Wasim Sajjad, lawyers Sharifuddin Peerzada and Ahmar Bilal Soofi. He also made late Benazir Bhutto as party when she was alive but later her name was deleted.
PPP senator Barrister Ch Aitzas Ahsan also filed an application to remove his name from the proceedings. He stated that details of his assets were available with the Election Commission and the Federal Board of Revenue.
