LAHORE: An accountability court on Wednesday suspended perpetual arrest warrants issued against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s daughter Rabia and her husband, Imran Ali Yousaf, in a case related to alleged irregularities in the Punjab Saaf Pani Company.

Judge Rana Arif issued an order on an application filed on behalf of the couple.

The judge accepted their request to surrender before the court and directed both Rabia and Imran to appear on May 5. The accountability court had issued perpetual warrants for their arrest in 2021 and 2022.

A counsel for the couple stated that the warrants could not be executed because they were abroad, but they now intended to return to Pakistan, surrender before the court and face trial. He expressed concern that they might be arrested at the airport due to red warrants issued against them.

A prosecutor for the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) did not oppose the plea to suspend the warrants. The judge observed that under the Constitution, every Pakistani citizen has the right to a fair trial.

The couple’s counsel also informed the court that PM Shehbaz and other suspects had already been acquitted in the same reference.

The NAB Lahore had filed a reference against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and 20 others in connection with the Saaf Pani Company case.

The accountability court had subsequently allowed the acquittal pleas of the prime minister and others.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2026