Supreme Court gives yet another blow to Sharif Family
Shares
ISLAMABAD - Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan, while conducting hearing of case regarding relocation of Sharif family’s sugar mills on Thursday, ordered the Sharif family’s lawyer to deposit Rs1 million in the dams fund after the counsel asked for more time to confer the case with his clients.
Three-member bench of the apex court - headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar - heard the case, pertaining to relocation of sugar mills owned by the Sharif family, to southern Punjab.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) last year had nullified the relocation of the Sharifs’ sugar mills to southern Punjab, ordering them to be shifted out of the region. The Sharif family had then approached the Supreme Court, which had accepted their plea for hearing earlier this year.
In his remarks during Thursday’s hearing, the chief justice observed that all directors belonged to Nawaz Sharif’s family. There was deception that a power plant was being constructed instead of sugar mills, Chief Justice Saqib Nisar remarked, adding that there were bad intentions behind the mills’ relocation.
The Sharif family’s lawyer asked the bench for more time to prepare the case. To this, the chief justice remarked that whoever wanted extra time should deposit Rs1 million in the dam fund. CJP said that the sugar mills were able to operate for one whole crushing season for free.
He added that there were bad intentions behind shifting the mills to South Punjab. The CJP observed that a judicial commission had been informed that a power house was being set up in the area. He said that they lied to the court and set up mills instead.
Chief Justice Nisar adjourned the hearing till August 20, after ordering the lawyer to deposit the amount in the dams fund and the court said that in future the case will not be adjourned whatever may be the reason.
