ISLAMABAD: The chief justice of Pakistan has constituted a three-member bench to hear the appeal of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against Lahore High Court’s (LHC) decision quashing the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case against the Sharif family.
The Supreme Court bench consisting of Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel is being headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and is set to hear the case on November 13.
Notices regarding this matter have already been issued to the NAB prosecutor general.
NAB filed an appeal in the apex court against LHC’s decision, naming former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Shehbaz’s son and MNA Hamza Shehbaz, and other family members as respondents on September 20.
NAB has also pleaded before the SC to suspend the reject the LHC decision to quash the case and ordered a re-investigation into the matter according to new evidence the emerged from the Panama Paper’s case Joint Investigation Team report.
The Supreme Court in its July 28 verdict in Panama Papers case had questioned the role of the NAB chairman, who had seemingly favoured the Sharifs in the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case by not challenging the LHC decision to close the reference.
“NAB did not challenge that judgement before the Supreme Court through any petition or appeal as NAB chairman had been appointed by (Nawaz Sharif) himself and, therefore, he had returned the favour by not filing any petition or appeal in that case against Mr Sharif and others. NAB chairman had failed in due performance of his duty in that regard,” the Supreme Court verdict in Panama Papers case maintained.
