LAHORE: An accountability court on Tuesday delayed announcement of its verdict on acquittal applications of former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, former director general of Lahore Development Authority Ahad Khan Cheema in Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme reference.

Judge Ali Zulqarnain Awan directed a prosecutor of NAB and the counsel for the applicants to assist the court to interpret a recent order by the Supreme Court wherein the trial courts had been restrained from announcing final orders till a decision on appeals against a judgment on the amendments in the law.

Earlier, the applicant’s counsel stated the apex court’s stay order did not affect the matter in hand. He said the court had heard the acquittal applications on merits and the defunct amendments in the NAB law had nothing to do with the proceedings.

The prosecutor also stated that the acquittal applications had been heard on merits.

However, the judge asked the prosecutor to seek a clarification from the attorney general office on the Supreme Court’s decision.

The judge observed that the reserved verdict on the acquittal pleas would be announced after a clear interpretation of the apex court’s order.

The judge adjourned the hearing till Nov 18.

The acquittal applications contended that all the approvers and the prosecution witnesses had resiled from their statements and there was no possibility of conviction in the reference.

The applicants asked the court to allow the applications and acquit them of the charges.

In a report filed in May, the NAB told the court that it found no evidence of financial corruption or misuse of authority against Mr Shehbaz.

The report maintained that the offence of misuse of authority and corruption against the former prime minister had not been established under the National Accountability Ordinance 1999.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2023