ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government is all set to reopen the Hudaibya case against the top leadership of main opposition party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) within a fortnight.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry along with his state minister Farrukh Habib and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Mirza Shahzad Akbar briefed reporters that the government had asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to “vigorously pursue pending appeals against conviction” in NAB references in high courts.

The minister said the matter had been discussed in three high-level meetings so far as the government mulled options for reopening of the Hudaibya case. “We have principally decided that the Hudiabya case will be opened at an appropriate forum within two weeks,” he disclosed.

According to Mr Akbar, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) might be assigned this task.

While rejecting NAB’s review petition in the Hudaibya Paper Mills (HPM) reference on Jan 5, 2018, the Supreme Court had held that legal process was abused and due process was denied to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and other respondents through “protracted” proceedings in the case.

The information minister, however, said the government had examined the law of double jeopardy. “We are very clear that since the reference was quashed without conviction of any accused, this is not a case of double jeopardy or being punished twice for same offence,” said Mr Chaudhry.

He further said the government had also written letters to the anti-graft watchdog for filing of civil miscellaneous (CMs) applications for early disposal of the pending appeals against acquittal or conviction of the high-profile accused in NAB references.

According to him, the Broadsheet probe commission has revealed that ample evidence is available against former president Asif Ali Zardari in all the six references in which he had been acquitted in 2014 whereas appeals against his acquittal have been pending since then.

“We have asked NAB to move CMs [applications] along with the evidences surfaced in the Broadsheet commission’s report,” the information minister said.

Responding to a question about placing the name of Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif on a no-fly list, Mr Chaudhry said: “We want day-to-day proceeding in Shehbaz Sharif case so that he can go abroad timely.”

The minister said it was the opposition leader who had been attempting to delay court proceedings.

Giving his opinion on Mr Shehbaz’s health condition, Mr Akbar said the opposition leader used to undergo dozens of medical tests while he was in jail, but he didn’t repeat any of his tests after having been released on bail.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2021