LAHORE: An accountability court has directed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to file a reference against PML-N leader Khawaja Asif in the assets case at the earliest.
Judge Sheikh Sajjad Ahmed resumed hearing on Thursday as the former defence minister appeared before the court. During the hearing, the judge directed the anti-graft watchdog to file the asset reference against the accused at the earliest. The court extended Khawaja Asif’s judicial remand until April 22.
On March 29, the Lahore High Court (LHC) issued a notice to the NAB to submit comments on a petition moved by Khawaja Asif seeking post-arrest bail.
After a preliminary hearing, a two-member bench headed by Justice Sarfraz Dogar issued a notice to the NAB, instructing it to file its response on the bail petition of the PML-N leader by next hearing on April 14.
Khawaja Asif’s counsel Barrister Haider Rasul Mirza filed the petition seeking bail stating that NAB had arrested him from Islamabad last year on December 29.
He contended that the corruption watchdog arrested him despite providing all the relevant records regarding his assets. He added that the record is also available with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). Khawaja Asif pleaded before the bench to order his release on bail.
