LAHORE: A “referee judge” of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday allowed appeals of the Sharif family challenging two references made by the National Accountability Bureau against Hudaibiya Paper Mills and others.

Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan was hearing the appeals as a referee judge after Justice Sheikh Najamul Hasan refused to further proceed with the matter. Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial had initially appointed Justice Hasan as “referee judge” after a division bench hearing the appeals of the Sharifs came to a dissenting observation on a law point.

The division bench, comprising Justice Khwaja Imtiaz Ahmad and Justice Farrukh Irfan Khan, at Rawalpindi bench had heard appeals and differed on a point whether there was no need or requirement to give observations that NAB authorities were competent to proceed against the petitioners if investigation was again initiated.

Later, the chief justice assigned the role of referee judge to Justice Khan after Justice Hasan declined to further hear the appeals, citing personal reasons.

Advocate Ashtar Ausaf represented the Sharif family before the referee judge and argued that NAB had made the references on direction of then military ruler Pervez Musharraf to politically victimise the Sharifs. He said the references could not be reopened. Justice Khan admitted the arguments and allowed the appeals.

YouTube ban: A Lahore High Court division bench on Tuesday sought a written reply from the information technology minister on a petition challenging ban on YouTube.

The bench expressed dissatisfaction over a reply filed by the secretary of the ministry and observed that the minister should submit the reply. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah headed the bench. The bench adjourned further hearing till March 13 (tomorrow).

An NGO, Bytes for All, had challenged the impugned ban pleading that any filtration and blockage on internet was counter-productive and predatory. It sought directions for the government to lift the ban on the access to YouTube.

The government had imposed the ban after the Google administration refused to remove blasphemous film “The Innocence of the Muslims” from YouTube.