Money-laundering reference: LHC grants post-arrest bail to Shahbaz

LAHORE: A full bench of the Lahore High Court on Thursday granted post-arrest bail to Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif in a money-laundering reference.

Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, who headed the bench, announced a short order in the open court. Justice Aalia Neelum and Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi were the other members of the bench.

“For the reasons to be recorded later and with the consensus, we grant the petitioner post-arrest bail subject to his furnishing bail bonds worth Rs5 million with two sureties each to the satisfaction of the learned trial court,” read a copy of the short order signed by all the three judges.

Earlier, NAB Special Prosecutor Faisal Raza Bokhari referred to a statement of Advocate Azam Nazir Tarar, Shahbaz’s counsel, about a split decision previously issued by a division bench on the bail petition of Shahbaz.

On Tuesday, Tarar had stated that it was unfortunate that a division bench initially allowed the bail petition and later issued a split decision. The counsel said he never witnessed change in an announced decision in his 27 years of law practice.

The NAB prosecutor said the statement of the counsel amounts to contempt of court and he should take his words back. However, Tarar said he owns his words and wonders that the prosecutor wants the bench to initiate contempt proceedings against him. Bokhari said he could establish that the statement of the counsel falls within the definition of contempt. The bench, however, asked the prosecutor to start his arguments on the petition.

Bokhari argued that Shahbaz, the petitioner, accumulated massive assets in the names of his family members as benamidars. He said two proxy companies established by the petitioner’s sons, Hamza and Suleman, alone received an unexplained foreign investment of Rs2 billion.

Asked whether Shahbaz was also a shareholder in the companies, the prosecutor told the bench that only the family members of the petitioner were shareholders. The prosecutor said the family members of the petitioner were also nominated suspects in the money-laundering reference. He pointed out that some of the members of the petitioner have been declared absconders by the trial court. He said the family of the petitioner established properties in 2005 when it started receiving huge foreign ‘investment’ through TTs.

Justice Najafi asked the prosecutor whether the NAB investigated the source of the TTs. Advocate Tarar pointed out that the NAB has failed to say anything in its reference about the source of the money received from outside the country.

The judge observed: “How can the NAB declare assets of Shahbaz Sharif illegal if there is no allegation of misuse of authority against him.”

The prosecutor argued that the family members of the petitioner were his benamidars. “How can you prove that the members of Shahbaz Sharif’s family are his benamidars?” the judge posed another query to the prosecutor. Bokhari said the assets of Shahbaz are beyond known sources of his income.

To a bench query about the adjournments sought in the trial, Advocate Tarar said the defence sought adjournments only on the death of Shahbaz’s mother. After hearing the arguments from both sides, the bench allowed the bail to Shahbaz.

Shahbaz had been arrested on September 28, 2020, after the LHC refused to extend his pre-arrest bail. Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) leaders congratulated the nation on the bail of PMLN President Shahbaz Sharif by the Lahore High Court on Thursday.

They said: “Today we thank Allah Almighty for the innocence of Shahbaz Sharif and the Sharif family. The LHC larger bench has proved that Shahbaz Sharif has been granted bail on merit that proves his innocence.”

They said Imran Khan's accountability is based on revenge and Shahzad Akbar's baseless claims have fallen to the ground. They said today Imran Khan’s stance on corruption by the opposition once again proved wrong.

These views were expressed by PMLN Punjab President Rana Sanaullah, Central Secretary Information Marriyum Aurangzeb and Punjab Information Secretary Azma Bokhari while talking to the media outside the Lahore High Court.

Rana Sanaullah said the decision of the Lahore High Court has proved the innocence of Shahbaz Sharif. “Now people are right to ask why the selected ruler wasted three years of the nation,” he said.

He said no welfare work/project was initiated in the country in three years by this government and they only did politics of revenge and destruction. “The economy was destroyed by this incompetent selected government. The PML-N struggle will move forward under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif,” he said.

Condemning the Quetta blast, he said the selected gang could not control the law and order situation in the country. “What happened in the last 10 days and a suicide blast in Quetta is a proof of their incompetence,” Rana Sanaullah said.

Marriyum Aurangzeb said the writ of the state was destroyed in the last 10 days. She said their days are numbered and the PMLN will resume the service of this country from where the chain was broken.

“Only one transparent election will take the country out of its difficulties,” she said. “The people's vote should be respected without any non-political interference and the government should be formed according to the will of the people.”

She said today she congratulates the nation as Imran Khan's false statement of corruption has failed once again. “Judges have granted bail to Shahbaz Sharif on merit, the NAB could not prove any kind of kickbacks, any kind of corruption. The court asked NAB for proof of Shahbaz Sharif's corruption and the NAB failed to produce any evidence,” she stated.

“Shahbaz Sharif served the people of Punjab like worship. For Imran Khan and Shahzad Akbar, I will say that Shahbaz Sharif has been granted bail in the tenth case. The high court has thrown away all the papers Shahzad Akbar used to wave before the media,” she said and added that Thursday’s decision is a medal for the PMLN because people were misled that corruption took place in the past government tenure but after three years they could not prove anything.

She demanded that Imran Khan apologise to the nation over his false claims and now the investigation should be initiated against Imran Khan, Shahzad Akbar, Khusro Bakhtiar, Jahangir Tareen and all others who made false claims and levelled false allegations.

Shahbaz Sharif has been unanimously acquitted by a three-member LHC bench, said Azma Bokhari, adding that the days of the selected government are numbered and soon the PMLN will start serving the nation as it was doing before.

Meanwhile, the National Accountability Bureau has summoned former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on April 26 in a new inquiry against him regarding appointment of former managing director Pakistan Petroleum.

NAB Rawalpindi has taken notice of the alleged corruption and illegal appointment of Wamiq Bokhari and summoned the PMLN leader with complete record. Special Assistant to PM on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill addressed Maryam Nawaz as calibri queen and said that the accountability of looted wealth was to be done and bail did not mean that no punishment to be given for corruption. He said that the corrupt had made illegal assets of Rs549 billion in last 20 years on the name of people's service. Gill said that the corrupt had thrusted corruption tainted projects upon the people and served the fugitive.