NAB barred from taking coercive measures against ex-PM

LAHORE

Lahore High Court Justice Mahmood Maqbool Bajwa on Wednesday while hearing petition of former Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf barred National Accountability Bureau from taking coercive measures against him.

The judge remarked that NAB could not be stopped from probing into the Pepco and Gepco scandal. The judge sought replies from NAB within three weeks.

The former premier through advocate Iftikhar Shahid submitted before the court that NAB had issued him summons for inquiry into bogus recruitments in Pepco and Gepco. He stated that the NAB action was a result of political victimisation at the behest of the ruling PML-N.

He said that being minster for water and power he never influenced the appointments in the sector.

He said the NAB had been playing in the hands of PML-N leadership and subjecting PPP leaders to political victimisation. He said he had asked the NAB officers to furnish him details of the allegations but the bureau kept issuing him summons without disclosing any reason.

The former prime minister pleaded that he was being dragged into the scandal on baseless grounds.

He prayed to the court to set aside the notices/summons issued by the NAB for being illegal.

SHO: An additional district and sessions judge on Wednesday sought comments from SHO Nolakha in a petition filed by a man seeking registration of a case against a shopkeeper whose negligence ruined petitioner’s house.

Petitioner Muhammad Zulqarnain contended before the court that accused Shaikh Muhammad Naeem Badshah, the general secretary of Landa bazaar, was running a shop located at back side of his house.

He contended that the accused poor quality sewerage caused penetration of water into his house owing to which cracks emerged.

He contended that the sewerage leakage not only damaged his house but also several houses.

He submitted that the accused posed killing threats when he complained him. He prayed the court to direct the respondent SHO to register FIR against the aforesaid accused.