LAHORE: An accountability court was assured on Tuesday that Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif will return from London on June 11.

The presiding judge, Jawadul Hassan, had taken up the Ashiyana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme and Ramzan Sugar Mills cases against Shahbaz Sharif, his son Hamza Shahbaz and others when he was informed by the spokesman for Shahbaz’s family, Advocate Ata Tarar, that the PML-N president would come back to Pakistan on June 11.

Mr Tarar also presented medical reports of Shahbaz Sharif before the court to justify his stay in London.

A National Accountability Bureau prosecutor, however, objected to the statement of Mr Tarar, saying he was not a counsel for Shahbaz Sharif in the case. He said the court could only rely upon the statement of a counsel having the power of attorney to represent the accused.

Counsel directed to ensure appearance of PML-N leader in court on June 13

Mr Tarar said Hamza Shahbaz was on his way to the court and he would confirm the return of his father on the given date.

Later, Mr Hamza along with his counsel Amjad Pervez assured the court that Mr Shahbaz would arrive in the country on June 11.

At this, the judge directed the counsel to ensure appearance of Mr Shahbaz in the court on June 13.

During the last hearing, Mr Pervez had told the court that his client would return after Eidul Fitr as he had an appointment with his doctor on June 7.

However, the court had directed him to tell it the exact date of Mr Sharif’s return.

The opposition leader had left for London on April 10 to see his grandchildren and to have his medical tests conducted. He was released on post-arrest bail on Feb 14, while Mr Hamza is still on pre-arrest bail. Later, the LHC also allowed Mr Shahbaz to travel abroad, directing the government to remove his name from the Exit Control List.

In the housing scheme scam, NAB has alleged that Mr Shahbaz being the then chief minister of Punjab misused his powers and got cancelled a lawfully granted contract to M/s Ch Abdul Latif and Sons, which also caused a loss to the national exchequer.

In the other case, the bureau has alleged that Mr Shahbaz being the then chief minister issued a directive for construction of a drain in Chiniot district primarily for the use of Ramzan Sugar Mills owned by his sons. It has said that Rs200 million was spent for this purpose from public money.

PML-N information secretary Marriyum Auranzeb told Dawn that Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif would attend the budget session on June 11.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2019