SC dismisses NAB's plea to reopen Hudaibiya Papers Mills case

SC dismisses NAB's plea to reopen Hudaibiya Papers Mills case

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday dismissed the review petition of the National Accountability Bureau for reopening the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case against the Sharif family.

A three-judge special bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam and comprising Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel dismissed the plea after going through the arguments.
The court observed that NAB could not establish its case or pointed out any legal mistake in the decision made earlier by the apex court.

Justice Isa remarked that they had heard the case in detail but found no illegality in the decision made earlier. He also questioned NAB regarding a delay of 1,299 days in filing an appeal against the decision. The Bureau's prosecutor could not satisfy the bench, which subsequently dismissed the review petition.

It may mentioned that on December 15, 2017 a three-member SC headed by Justice Mushir Alam had dismissed NAB’s appeal to reopen the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case. NAB had then filed an review petition against the decision.
The Hudaibiya Paper Mills case, involving money laundering charges against the Sharif family, was initiated by NAB in 2000, which was quashed by the Lahore High Court (LHC) in 2014. The NAB had filed an appeal against the LHC decision, but it was dismissed by the Supreme Court.

The Hudaibiya Paper Mills was allegedly used as a cover by the Sharif family to launder money outside the country in the 1990s. Ishaq Dar had also recorded a confessional statement on April 25, 2000 accepting his role in money laundering but later he retracted.

APP