High Court grants bail to PML-N president

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) granted bail to Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-N) President and leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif on Thursday.

A three-member bench comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, Justice Alia Neelum and Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi heard the bail application.

Last week, a division bench comprising Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Asjad Javed Ghural, issued a split decision on Shahbaz’s petition, sending the mater to the chief justice for the nomination of a referee judge.

Justice Dogar, the head of the bench, had allowed the petition while Justice Ghural had dismissed it on merit. In his dissenting note, Justice Ghural accused the senior judge of issuing the bail granting short order unilaterally.

This had happened for the first time that the judges’ conflicting opinions surfaced ater the court officials had announced immediately ater the hearing that Shahbaz had been granted bail. Three days ater that, Justice Ghural’s dissenting order was issued.

In September last, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had arrested Shahbaz from the LHC ater it had rejected his bail plea in the asset beyond means and money-laundering case and cancelled his interim bail.

Meanwhile, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has asked senior vice president of the PML-N and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to apologise within seven days or face action over his alleged misbehaviour and disrespect to the chair during the house proceedings.

Abbasi, on the other hand, not only refused to tender the apology, but declared that the speaker must apologise to members of the National Assembly for his alleged partisan conduct.

Another opposition party, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), also criticised the speaker, saying “he has lost moral authority to stay in office due to his partial conduct.”

Taking notice of the continuous misbehaviour and disregard of the chair and accepted parliamentary norms, a leter on the direction of the speaker has sent to Abbasi.

It said that Abbasi has been informed that he disregarded the chair and the accepted parliamentary norms, especially on 20th April 2021 while a very important business was being transacted in the house.

The speaker, it says, is of the view that Abbasi eroded/disregarded the authority of the chair and by such act the smooth running of the proceedings of the assembly was obstructed. It further accuses Abbasi of “ridiculing the chair.”