Former Punjab CM Sharif’s remand extended by 2 weeks
ACCOUNTABILITY COURT REJECTS NAB REQUEST FOR PHYSICAL REMAND IN MILLS CASE
An accountability court yesterday extended the physical remand of opposition leader in the National Assembly, Shahbaz Sharif, to November 24 in the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing case.
However, the court rejected the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) request for his physical remand in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case. Earlier, NAB officials presented Sharif, the former chief minister of Punjab, before the Accountability Court amid strict security, when his transit remand expired.
An NAB prosecutor submitted an investigation report and said Sharif attended a recent National Assembly session and, therefore, no significant progress could be made in investigations during the remand term.
‘Fully cooperating’
The prosecutor pleaded with the court to extend Sharif’s remand for another 15 days, saying he had also been arrested in connection with the sugar mills case. However, Sharif’s lawyer, Amjad Pervaiz, opposed the request saying his client appeared before NAB whenever he was summoned.
Pervaiz said Sharif had fully cooperated with the bureau, but it failed to show any solid evidence against him.
He also opposed physical remand in Ramzan Sugar Mills case. “The law states that a man who has been arrested in one case will be considered arrested in other cases as well,” he said.
The court reserved its verdict initially, but later extended the remand for another 14 days in the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing case. But it rejected NAB’s request for physical remand in the Ramzan Sugar Mills Case
The NAB arrested Sharif on October 5, after he appeared for questioning in the Saaf Pani corruption case at the accountability watchdog’s Lahore office.