The court has reserved its decision on Shehbaz and Hamza’s pre-arrest bail in the Rs16 billion money laundering case.

A special court in Lahore reserved its decision on Saturday on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz’s pre-arrest bail applications in a Rs16 billion money laundering case filed by the Federal Investigation Agency against them (FIA).

The court also postponed rulings on pre-arrest bail applications filed by other suspects in the case.

The investigation officer informed the court during the hearing that neither he nor the previous IO had submitted a new report requiring Shehbaz and Hamza’s custody.

This contradicts the statement of FIA Prosecutor Farooq Bajwa, who confirmed to the court during the previous hearing that the agency intended to arrest the leaders.

During the last hearing, Presiding Judge of the Special Court (Central-I), Ijaz Hassan Awan, extended Shehbaz and Hamza’s interim bails in the case until June 11. Both leaders appeared in court again today.

The FIA presented a report about non-bailable arrest warrants issued for three suspects, including Shehbaz’s son Suleman Shehbaz, Malik Maqsood, and Tahir Naqvi, at the start of the hearing.

According to the report, the warrants could not be executed because Suleman was not present at his address and had travelled abroad. According to the report, the FIA also wrote a letter to the relevant agency requesting verification of Maqsood’s death.

The same was stated by FIA Prosecutor Bajwa, who informed the court that the agency had contacted Interpol regarding Maqsood’s death.

Following that, the judge ordered the FIA to submit a verified report. He also made a newspaper clipping about the death into evidence in court.

PM Shehbaz addresses the court Shehbaz told the court that the FIA’s case was similar to one filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

He stated that there are cases against him relating to the Ashiana Housing Scheme and the Ramazan Sugar Mill. When the judge asked Shehbaz if he owned any shares in those companies, the premier said no.

“In the Ashiana case, it was claimed that I had abused my authority.”