LAHORE - The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday issued notices to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) authorities for April 13 and April 14 on bail petitions, filed by Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and PML-N senior leader Khwaja Muhammad Asif in assets beyond means and money laundering case, respectively.

A division bench comprising Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Asjad Javaid Ghural heard the post-arrest bail petitions filed by both accused.  Petitioner Shehbaz Sharif’s counsel argued before the bench that the Bureau fabricated money laundering case against his client with mala fide intentions, as his client had already declared all his assets. He submitted that the Bureau had filed the challan (charge-sheet) against the petitioner and others whereas the trial was pending in an accountability court.

The counsel submitted that Shehbaz Sharif was behind bars for past many months whereas conclusion of trial would take long time. He submitted that the Bureau had all the record and it did not have to recover anything from his client. He also said that many co-accused had already been granted relief of post-arrest bail in the case.

He submitted that his client could not perform his constitutional responsibilities as Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly. He also submitted that his client was 70-year-old and a cancer survivor. 

He submitted that under these circumstances, there was no reason to keep Shehbaz Sharif behind the bars and pleaded with the bench for grant of post-arrest bail, besides assuring that he would attend trial proceedings regularly.

The bench issued notice to the NAB authorities for April 13 and sought reply.  Separately, a counsel for Kh Asif argued before the bench that NAB had launched investigations against his client on allegations of money laundering and having assets beyond known sources of income about two years ago. He submitted that the matter was investigated by NAB Rawalpindi first and then it was sent to NAB Lahore. He submitted that the petitioner regularly responded to all notices, issued by the Bureau in connection with the inquiry, but even then he was arrested him from Islamabad on December 29, 2020 in the case.

He submitted that the petitioner had already provided all record to the Bureau, which had not produced any record of the complainant in the court yet. He submitted that the Election Commission and the Federal Board of Revenue had also complete details of petitioner’s assets whereas the accountability court judge had also remarked that the Bureau possessed all record of the case.

He submitted that the Bureau had failed to recover anything from his client which could be connected with allegations of corruption.  He submitted that, under the circumstances, there was no reason to keep his client behind the bars and requested the bench for grant of post-arrest bail to him. The bench issued notices to the BAB authorities for April 14 and sought reply while adjourning further hearing. 

Shehbaz Sharif was arrested on Sept 28 after the LHC denied him further relief of pre-arrest bail in the case. He remained in the NAB custody for 23 days till the trial court sent him on judicial remand on Oct 20, 2020. NAB had nominated 16 persons as the accused in the case. However, only 10 had been indicted yet. Besides Shehbaz Sharif, Hamza Shehbaz, Javeria Ali, Fazl Dad Abbasi, Rashid Karamat, Muhammad Usman, Masroor Anwar, Nisar Ahmad, Shoaib Qamar, and Qasim Qayyum had been indicted in the case, while Suleman Shehbaz, Nusrat Shehbaz, Rabia Imran, Syed Muhammad Tahir Naqvi, Haroon Yousaf Zai and another could not be indicted due to their absence from case proceedings.

In a reference, comprising 55 volumes, the Bureau had alleged that Shehbaz Sharif  family committed massive money laundering of Rs 7 billion. Yasir Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmad, Shahid Rafique and Aftab were declared approvers in the reference.

NAB had launched investigations against PML-N leader Kh Asif under Clause 4 of the NAB Ordinance 1999 and Section 3 of Anti-Money Laundering Act. It alleged that assets of Khwaja Asif increased substantially during the past years, which did not correspond to his income. The Bureau also stated that Kh Asif claimed to receive Rs 130 million from a UAE firm, but he failed to present solid evidence in investigations. The Bureau also alleged that Kh Asif was running a benami company.