SC rejects NAB plea to reopen Hudaibiya Paper Mills case
The verdict has brought some relief to the ruling PML-N.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – A three-member bench of the Supreme Court led by Justice Mushir Alam Rizvi unanimously rejected an appeal by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) seeking opening of a case, commonly referred to as the Hudaibiya Papers Mill.
A one-line judgment read by Rizvi said the appeal to reopen the case was dismissed and a detailed verdict would be issued later.
On September 20, NAB filed a petition in SC to nullify the decision of Lahore High Court (LHC) to shut Hudaibiya Paper Mills case, clearing Sharifs.
Chiding accountability bureau lawyer, Justice Qazi Faez Isa remarked that the documents on which NAB wants to reopen the case is not attached with the petition, adding “We are hearing the plea, not reference."
The lawyer had told the court that there are spaces in LHC decision, therefore, the plea should be considered for justice.
The apex court, after hearing the plea, declared it inadmissible as it has got expired.
You have failed to satisfy the court on the reasons for delay in filing the appeal, Justice Mushir Alam told to NAB lawyer.
On November 11, the apex court rejected NAB plea, seeking adjournment of Hudaibiya Paper Mills case till the appointment of the new prosecutor general.
NAB had blamed ousted premier Nawaz Sharif and the LHC judges for delaying Hudaibiya Paper Mills Ltd case appeal and requested the top court to reopen the reference.
On November 13, new bench was formed after Justice Asif Saeed Khosa excused himself from hearing the matter, saying that he was given the case due to office’s mistake. He continued, “It seems that the office has not read my verdict on Panama Leaks case. I wrote 14 paragraphs over Hudaibiya Papers Mills in the April 20 decision.”
Hudaibiya case
The prosecution alleges the Sharif family in the 1990s used the company to launder 1.2 billion Pakistani rupees ($10 million) out of the country.
The case was lodged against Nawaz Sharif, his brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Shahbaz’s son and Member of National Assembly Hamza Shahbaz and other members over Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar’s confessional statement on April 25, 2000 before magistrate in Lahore.
The reference was afterwards dismissed by LHC referee judge Justice Sardar Shamimon March 11, 2014 in response to a writ petition filed in 2011, stating that Dar was pressurized to record the statement.
