LAHORE -A division bench of Lahore High Court headed by Chief Justice Khwaja Muhammad Sharif on Tuesday turned down a prayer made by counsel for Pakistan Ambassador to US, Hussain Haqqani, to withdraw a petition filed earlier against NAB for placing Haqqanis name in the list of NRO beneficiaries. During hearing of the case on Tuesday, the counsel for NAB Rana Abdul Shakoor requested time to produce the order on the basis of which Hussain Haqqani was exonerated in a case registered by the Ehtasab Bureau in 1997. Haqqanis counsel prayed to the court to allow him withdrawal of the petition but the bench comprising, Justice Nasir Saeed Sheikh, declined the request, observing that the court had seized the matter and it would proceed with the same as per law. The bench will take up further hearing of the matter on October 7. In the petition Haqqani through his counsel pleaded that he had never applied for any benefit under National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in any alleged case against him. He said that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) established by ex-president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf had never filed any reference against him. Haqqani submitted that he was arrested by Ehtisab Bureau in 1999 and later handed over to FIA who registered three cases against him on the charges of misuse of power. However, he was later released on bail by LHC after 79 days in detention. He further said that FIR in one of them was also quashed by SHC whereas the other case was dropped by the investigating agency after failing to prove the allegations. So far as the third case is concerned, it never reached the stage of prosecution during the last ten years, therefore, there was no question of requesting any relief under the NRO. He said the investigation agency might have dropped the case on its own volition. The Petitioner requested the court to direct the authorities to delete his name from the list of NRO beneficiaries.