Charge hearing against Pak PM, son delayed

Shehbaz Sharif

Online desk: The indictment of Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son, Punjab chief minister Hamza Shehbaz, in a 16 billion rupees money laundering case was delayed again on Saturday after the premier submitted an application to be exempted from the hearing, reports Dawn.

A special court in Lahore had, last month, directed Shehbaz and Hamza to ensure their presence at the May 14 hearing date for the framing of charges against them.

When the hearing resumed today, their lawyer, Mohammad Amjad Pervaiz, submitted an application on Shehbaz’s behalf, seeking exemption from appearance.

The application, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, stated that Shehbaz was scheduled to return from his visit to the United Kingdom on May 13 but was delayed since an appointment with his medical consultant could not be set up before 12:30pm on Saturday.

Shehbaz was a cancer survivor and a patient of chronic backache and his medical checkup had been long overdue since the previous PTI government did not allow him to fly abroad, it stated.

The application further stated that Shehbaz also had to reschedule his return so he could visit the United Arab Emirates to offer his condolences on the passing away of the country’s president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

‘The non-appearance of the petitioner is neither malafide nor intentional, rather, the same is on the account of the above said reason,’ it added.

Subsequently, Presiding Judge of the Special Court Ijaz Hassan Awan accepted the application and extended Shehbaz and Hamza’s pre-arrest bails till May 21.

Earlier during the hearing, Judge Awan observed that the proceedings could once again not move forward because of the exemption application.

FIA prosecutor Farooq Bajwa said the agency had no objection to the application and pointed out that the presence of all the suspects was necessary.

He informed the court that it was his first appearance in the case.

Meanwhile, Shehbaz and Hamza’s lawyer, Pervaiz, argued that all the companies named in the case were registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.

Shehbaz had never been the director or shareholder of the companies, he said, arguing that the case was registered during the previous government’s tenure without any investigation.

The FIA did not submit a challan for seven months because it had no evidence and was using delaying tactics, he argued.

‘The purpose was only to hold a media trial. The previous government’s purpose was to make Shehbaz and Hamza appear in the court in one case. The FIR was lodged for character assassination and the political narrative.’