LAHORE: The Lahore
High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the National Accountability Bureau
(NAB) on post-arrest bail petition by Jang group editor-in-chief Mir Shakilur
Rehman in a 34-year-old case of 54-kanal land allegedly allotted to him by then
Punjab chief minister Nawaz Sharif.

At the outset of the
hearing, Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem, head of a two-judge bench, asked the
counsel for the petitioner if there was any fresh ground taken in the petition
for release on bail.

The bench had
dismissed two identical petitions against the arrest and for release of Mr
Rehman on bail when he was on physical remand with the NAB.

Advocate Amjad
Pervez, the counsel, responded to the judge’s query saying the petitioner was
no more in the bureau’s custody and on judicial remand. He said there was no
justification to keep the petitioner behind the bars any more. The counsel
further said there was nothing to be recovered from the petitioner.

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To another query by
the bench, he said then chief minister Nawaz Sharif, also a suspect in the
inquiry, had not joined the investigation by the NAB.

After hearing the
counsel, the bench issued a notice to the NAB for its reply to the bail
petition by May 28.

The NAB had arrested
Mr Rehman on March 12 when he made his second appearance before its
investigation team. He was sent to jail on judicial remand on April 28 by an
accountability court. The accountability court also held hearing of judicial
remand on Tuesday, however, the jail authorities did not produce Mr Rehman in
view of a government’s decision of not transporting under-trial prisoners to
courts during the coronavirus lockdown.

An official of the
jail presented a report to the court and stated that the suspect could not be
brought from the district jail due to the precautionary measures.

Newspaper: Dawn

Related link: The
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