LHC stops NAB from arresting PML-N’s Hamza Shahbaz

F.P. Report

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday has stopped the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from arresting Hamza Shahbaz till further orders.

Earlier on Saturday, the Hamza Shahbaz had approached the LHC against the NAB which had tried twice last week to arrest him but failed due to resistance by the PML-N workers.

The court granted bail and directed the PM-N leader to deposit Rs 10 million surety bonds.

On Saturday, LHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan, allowed protective bail to Hamza Shahbaz and barred the NAB from arresting him till Monday.

The chief justice issued the order, in his chamber, on a civil miscellaneous application filed by the counsel of Hamza to stop his possible arrest when a NAB team had raided his Model Town residence for the second time in 24 hours to take him into custody.

A legal team comprising Lahore High Court Bar Association President, Hafeezur Rehman Chaudhry, Amjad Pervez and Chaudhry Imtiaz Elahi appeared on behalf of Hamza before the chief justice in his chamber.

The counsel contended that a petition of Hamza for ad interim pre-arrest bail was already fixed for hearing before a two-judge bench for April 8. They pointed out that the court had on Nov 20, 2018, disposed of a previous bail petition of the leader of opposition with a direction to the NAB to intimate the petitioner if it found any ground for his arrest so he could have sufficient time of at least 10 days for approaching the court of competent jurisdiction.

They argued that the NAB in violation of the order was apt to arrest the petitioner without giving him time and his house was cordoned by the bureau’s officials.

LAHORE: Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz will appear before the Lahore High Court on Monday (today) to seek pre-arrest bail.

According to details, a two-judge bench of Lahore High Court (LHC) headed by Justice Malik Bashir Ahmed Khan will hear the Hamza’s bail petition.

Strict security arrangements have been made around the LHC premises ahead of the hearing. According to police sources, 568 policemen have been deployed while two superintendent police, six deputy superintendents and 10 inspectors are also on-duty.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) carried out two successive raids on Friday and Saturday at PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif’s Model Town residence to arrest Hamza.

On Saturday, the LHC issued a short order granting interim bail to Hamza until April 8. The high court’s written order stated that an interim protective bail has been granted to Hamza “in order to enable the petitioner to approach” the concerned bench for the hearing of a bail plea that was filed on April 4. Advocate Amjad Pervez had appeared before the LHC on Hamza’s behalf and argued that Hamza had filed a request for interim bail.