A banking court of Lahore on Saturday extended the pre-arrest bails of Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza in the money laundering case till October 30.
In November last, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had booked the PML-N leaders under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Anti-Money Laundering Act. They are facing charges of laundering Rs25 billion.
The banking court had on September 25 extended their pre-arrest bails till October 8 as Shehbaz stated that the investigating agency was ‘lying’ as he was in no way linked to Ramzan Sugar Mills.
On Saturday, both Shehbaz and Hamza appeared before the court and the judge questioned the FIA prosecutor about the progress of the investigation.
The FIA counsel replied that a questionnaire had been sent to Shehbaz. He also objected to the jurisdiction of the banking court in the case praying that it could not be heard (in the banking court) due to anti-corruption provisions.
Shehbaz claimed in court that the documents were the same “in which the decision has come from London”.
The judge remarked that the question of jurisdiction had been raised by the public prosecutor for the first time and the objection would be heard on October 30.
In an earlier hearing, the opposition leader had said he had never been a shareholder or a director of the sugar mill.
He had told the court that he had given all details to the officials while he was being interrogated in jail as well as about the assets made by his father that he had later transferred to his children.
Shehbaz said he had already submitted answers to a questionnaire given to him by the FIA that was a “virtual photocopy” of the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) case against him.
