LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday sought assistance from Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan on a petition filed by PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz seeking one-time permission to travel to London to inquire after her ailing father former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

“We want to hear point of view of the attorney general on the issue in hand,” Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, heading a two-judge bench, told Additional Attorney General Chaudhry Ishtiaq A Khan.

The judge asked the law officer to apprise the bench of the availability of the top law officer so the next hearing could be fixed.

“The federal government has already filed its reply in the case,” Mr Khan said, apparently to persuade the bench that the attorney general would have the same view as the government had already expressed in its reply.ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD

However, Justice Najafi observed that the bench would like to hear the AGP as well.

“We will summon him [AGP] through an order if he cannot appear,” the judge told the additional advocate general.

Mr Khan, however, said the AGP would definitely appear whenever required by the court.

Meanwhile, the law officer told the bench that the Punjab government had decided against extending Mr Sharif’s stay abroad. Therefore, he said the petition by Ms Nawaz stood infructuous.

The bench adjourned the hearing with direction to the additional-AG to inform it about the availability of the AGP so it could fix next hearing.

Later, the bench fix March 11 for the next hearing.

Earlier, advocate Azam Nazir Tarar argued on behalf of the petitioner and stated that the doctors in London advised surgical procedure to Mr Sharif.

He said the petitioner had already lost her mother and she had voluntarily returned to the country to serve sentence handed down to her by an accountability court.

Mr Tarar said Mr Sharif had not regained his health so far as he was still undergoing diagnostic process as per fresh medical reports filed with the court.

The counsel argued that the petitioner was in a dire need to go abroad to attend to and inquire after her ailing father.

He referred to a Sindh High Court decision wherein an undertrial prisoner was allowed to travel abroad once.

He said the name of the petitioner be removed from the Exit Control List (ECL) and she be given a one-time permission for six weeks to travel to and stay in London.

The reply filed by the federal government said the petitioner, being a convict, could not be allowed to leave the country. It said the name of the petitioner had been placed on the ECL following her conviction by an accountability court.

It further said the petitioner had not challenged the decision of a sub-committee of the federal cabinet on her representation that also refused to permit her to travel abroad. The petitioner had only assailed the impugned memorandum of the ECL, the reply added.

Ms Nawaz had already been released on bail by the court in Chaudhry Sugar Mills case with a condition of surrendering her passport.

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday summoned a stepson of Prime Minister Imran Khan in a petition accusing him of being involved in a case of abduction committed with the help of police.

Petitioner Mohammad Hassan moved the court for recovery of his two brothers who, he said, had business relations with Ibrahim Maneka, the son of first lady Bushra Bibi from her previous husband Khawar Maneka.

The petitioner said that one of his brothers, Ijaz Ahmad, borrowed a car from Ibrahim and unfortunately got it damaged in a road accident. At this, he said, Ibrahim started demanding a huge amount of money as compensation.

He alleged that Ibrahim being an influential person got picked his two brothers, Ijaz and Ahsan, with the help of local police.ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD

The petitioner said he had approached the respondent for release of his brothers, but the latter declined to do so until the payment of Rs150 million was made.

A police report submitted to the court said that both the men were neither wanted in any case nor were taken into custody.

Justice Anwarul Haq Pannun adjourned the hearing to Feb 24 and summoned Ibrahim Maneka.

Meanwhile, LHC Chief Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh on Thursday dismissed a petition seeking contempt proceedings against Prime Minister Imran Khan on the basis of an alleged anti-judiciary speech.

The chief justice sustained a registrar office objection on the competency of the petition and dismissed it.

A citizen, Tahir Maqsood, filed the petition through Advocate Faizan Naseer Chohan.

The petitioner contended that the prime minister tried to make cases pending against opposition leaders prejudice by delivering the speech in question. He said the prime minster criticised senior judges of the Supreme Court which amounted to contempt of court.

The petitioner pointed out that the SC had in 2013 issued a contempt notice to Mr Khan for his anti-judiciary rants. He asked the court to summon PM Khan in person, disqualify him and order the Election Commission to de-notify his election as member of the National Assembly.

Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh was sworn in on Wednesday as the 49th chief justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC).

Justice Sheikh, who will retire on March 18, 2020, succeeds Justice Sardar Mohammad Shamim Ahmed Khan, who completed his tenure after a year at the helm on December 31, 2019.

Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar administered oath to Justice Sheikh on Wednesday at a ceremony held at Governor House, Lahore.

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan, Punjab Inspector General of Police Shoaib Dastgir, LHC judges, provincial ministers, provincial and federal law officers, as well as LHC officers attended the oath-taking ceremony.ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD

Additionally, members of the Pakistan Bar Council, Punjab Bar Council and Lahore Bar Association also attended the ceremony.

After being sworn in, Justice Sheikh arrived at the LHC where he received a warm welcome including a salute from the police squad.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday gave PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz’s counsel till tomorrow to prepare his arguments after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) submitted its response to her petitions seeking post-arrest bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.

The PML-N vice president had approached the high court on September 30 seeking post-arrest bail in the case, which is being investigated by NAB. Following the sudden deterioration in the health of her father, Nawaz Sharif, she then filed a miscellaneous petition on Oct 24 seeking immediate bail on the basis of fundamental rights and humanitarian reasons.

The accountability watchdog had on Friday sought time to submit its reply to the petitions. Adjourning proceedings, the court had granted the plea and directed NAB to submit the response by Monday (today).

The LHC heard both the main petition and the miscellaneous petition together today.

During the hearing by a two-member bench comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem, the court asked whether the PML-N vice president was meeting her father former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

The former premier was rushed to Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS) last week after his personal physician raised alarm about his deteriorating health. He is currently admitted at the hospital.

Her lawyer, Azam Nazir Tarar, confirmed today that she had been granted permission to meet Nawaz.

The court asked if NAB had submitted their reply to Maryam’s petition, after which the reply was presented in court.

Maryam’s lawyer requested time for preparation after receiving a copy of the accountability watchdog’s response. Proceedings were adjourned till tomorrow.

Maryam and her cousin Yousaf Abbas had been arrested by NAB on August 8. Later, on Sept 26, they were sent to jail on judicial remand.

NAB suspects Maryam of involvement in money laundering through investments of variable heavy amounts being the main shareholder of the CSM. It has alleged that she was involved in money laundering with the help of some foreigners during the period of 1992-93, when her father Nawaz Sharif was the prime minister.