LAHORE: An accountability court on Thursday sought arguments from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on an application for staying the auction of assets owned by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a case of illegal allotment of plots to Jang group owner Mir Shakilur Rehman.

Yousaf Abbas and others filed the application through Advocate Qazi Misbahul Haq in light of the new amendment in section 5 of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999.

The counsel argued that after the new amendment the case did not fall within the jurisdiction of the NAB and the accountability court since the amount involved in the reference was less than Rs500 million.

He said the order passed by the court for the auction of the assets allegedly owned by the former prime minister could not be implemented since it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.

[embedpost slug=”shahbaz-gill-has-been-released-from-adiala-jail/”]

He asked the court to immediately suspend its order for the auction of the assets.

The court issued a notice to the NAB for its arguments on the application within a week.

The court had already acquitted Rehman and two former officers of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) in reference of a 34-year-old illegal land allotment.

The NAB alleged that Rehman illegally obtained exemption of 54 plots each measuring one-Kanal situated in Block-H, Johar Town. It said the allotment of the land had been in connivance with then chief minister Nawaz Sharif against the exemption policy and the laws for monetary gains. It alleged the accused caused a loss of Rs143.53 million to the national exchequer through allotment of the land in violation of the exemption policy.