KHUDAYAR MOHLA

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar on Friday formed a bench to hear appeal of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed against Lahore High Court verdict of March 11, 2014 that barred the top anti-graft body from reinitiating an inquiry against the Sharif family in multibillion rupees willful loan default case concerning Hudaibiya Paper Mills.

Filing an appeal on Sept 20 last, the NAB submitted that in view of the Joint Investigation Team of six members, who probed into Panama Papers matter, the NAB could not be restrained from proceeding to investigation into Hudaibiya Paper Mills matter.

Seeking leave to appeal to examine the legality, propriety and vires of the High Court verdict in the matter, the NAB had made management of Hudabiya Papers Mills Ltd, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Hussain Nawaz, Hassan Nawaz, Maryam Safdar, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, legal heirs of the late Mian Muhammad Abbas Sharif, Shahmim Akhtar, and Sabiha Abbas as respondents and federation through secretary Ministry of Law and Justice and judge of Accountability Court No. IV, Rawalpindi, as pro forma respondents.

The Bureau submitted that it filed reference (interim and final) # 5/2000 in the year 2000 before the Accountability Court No. II, Attock Fort, against the Sharif family for committing an act of corruption and corrupt practices as defined under Section 9 read with Section 10 of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 on the allegation that the respondents constituted management of the Hudaibiya Paper Mills and remained in possession of huge amount of ill-gotten wealth totaling to Rs1242.732 million which was unexplained and disproportionate to their known sources of income.

The NAB said that Lahore High Court verdict was not passed in consonance with the dictums laid down by the apex court and prayed the court to set aside the LHC judgment to the extent of re-investigation in order to fortify and corroborate the material collected by the JIT. Under the fact the Bureau said that investigation is a continued process to reach the just conclusion and any embargo cannot be placed on fresh investigation or further investigation especially when new material has emerged.

A three-member bench led by Justice Sardar Asif Saeed Khan Khosa and comprising Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel has been formed on Friday to hear the matter on November 13.