Lahore (Staff Report): An accountability court on Wednesday granted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) 14-day physical remand of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hamza Shehbaz.
The Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Hamza was presented in the accountability court by the NAB officials amid tight security.
The accountability watchdog requested for 15-day physical remand of the PML-N leader.
The court granted the NAB 14-day physical remand of Hamza and ordered to present him before the court on June 26.
On Tuesday, NAB arrested Hamza after the PML-N leader withdrew his applications for bail in two corruption cases.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Shahid Waheed Khan heard the petitions of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, seeking interim bails in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case and assets beyond means sources of income cases.
During last hearing, Hamza Shehbaz's counsel Advocate Azam Nazir Tarar pleaded to the court to adjourn the hearing for bail until after Eid ul Fitr holidays. To this, Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi declared that hearing should be conducted on a daily basis if needed.
The lawyer said it was difficult to control party workers and supporters in political cases.
After hearing arguments from Hamza Shehbaz's lawyer and the NAB prosecutor, Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi extended the interim bail for the PML-N leader until June 11.
On May 29, the LHC constituted a new two-member bench comprising Justice Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi and Justice Shahid Waheed Khan to hear Hamza Shehbaz’ bail petitions.
A day earlier, a two-judge LHC bench comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem rescued itself from hearing the bail plea of the lawmaker after he expressed reservations on it in the pretext of NAB Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal’s interaction with columnist Javed Chaudhry.
On May 22, a two-member bench of the LHC headed by Justice Baqir Ali Najafi granted bail to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader in Ramzan Sugar Mills, Punjab Saaf Pani and assets beyond means cases till May 28.
