NAB officials told me investigation complete, says Shahbaz

LAHORE: A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Thursday extended the interim pre-arrest bail of PML-N President and Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif in an assets beyond means case till July 23.

The PML-N president turned up to court after absence on two previous hearings after falling prey to COVID -19. Rana Sanaullah, Atta Tarar and Shaista Pervez Malik were accompanying their leader. As the hearing commenced, a junior lawyer appeared on behalf of Shahbaz Sharif's main counsel Amjad Pervez, and stated that Pervez is not available due to his engagement at the Islamabad High Court. However, NAB Special Prosecutor Faisal Raza Bukhari opposed the adjournment request, arguing that the chief justice of Pakistan has taken a suo motu notice on inordinate delay in disposal of NAB-related cases and insisted that the instant petition should be decided forthwith.

Shahbaz stated he turned up to the court in respect of judges and against the advice of his doctors. He said many people tried to give political colour to his illnesses. He pointed out that the NAB had admitted on the last hearing that the investigation has been completed. “I swear that seven persons sitting in the NAB office had categorically told him that the investigation has been concluded,” he said, adding that surprisingly, NAB officials took an entirely different stance in the court.

The bench headed by Justice Masood Abid Naqvi, however, accepted Shahbaz's request and extended his bail till July 23.