LAHORE, Oct 23: A Lahore High Court division bench on Wednesday referred to the chief justice a petition filed by different banks for the recovery of loans from Ittefaq Group Industries of the ruling Sharif family.

As the bench comprising Justice Aminud Din Khan and Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh took up the petition, the latter (Justice Sheikh) refused to hear it taking a plea that he had been counsel for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif so it would not be appropriate to hear the instant case.

The petition was filed by a consortium of banks in 1998 for winding up of three units of Ittefaq Group in order to recover about Rs3 billion loan.

The petitioners included National Bank of Pakistan, Habib Bank Ltd, United Bank, Zarai Taraqiati Bank and MCB Bank.

The banks had requested the court to order recovery of their loan through auction of Ittefaq Foundries, Ittefaq Textile Mills and Khalid Siraj Industries as they had failed to fulfill their financial commitments. — Staff reporter