An accountability court (AC) on Monday issued a written order on interim bail of Suleman Shehbaz, son of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a money laundering case. Suleman, who returned to Pakistan earlier this month, was granted bail after he filed a petition for pre-arrest bail in the reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in 2020. As per details, the court stated in a written order that Suleman Shehbaz should join the investigation and make sure of his presence in every hearing in the court.

The AC ordered Suleman Shehbaz to submit surety bonds worth Rs500,000 for the court’s satisfaction and issued notices to NAB till January 7. The petitioner told the court that he is innocent and he is booked in this case contrary to the facts, the written order stated. The AC written order stated that according to Suleman Shehbaz if he is arrested, this will cause unprecedented damage to him. Earlier, the Islamabad High Court (IHC stopped the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from arresting Suleman Shehbaz, son of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif upon his arrival from London.

It is worth mentioning here that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had written a letter to the UK government to hand over Suleman, who was wanted by the accountability watchdog under money laundering charges and the Telegraphic Transfer scandal. An accountability court in 2019 also issued non- bailable warrants for the arrest of Suleman Shehbaz in a money laundering case.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP