Three accountability court judges hearing the cases of Rana Sanaullah as well as multiple members of the Sharif family were repatriated and directed on Friday to report to the Lahore High Court (LHC).
A notice was sent by the LHC registrar to judges Masood Arshad, Mohammad Naeem Arshad, and Mushtaq Elahi.
According to the notice pursuant to a notification dated August 26 issued by the law ministry, “the honourable chief justice has been pleased to repatriate you and direct you to report to this court forthwith for further orders”.
No reason has been mentioned in the order for the judges’ repatriation.
Judge Masood Arshad had been serving the special court for control of narcotic substances (CNS) and had been hearing Sanaullah’s case. On August 28, he stopped the hearing midway after learning of his repatriation.
The counsel for Sanaullah, while talking to the media outside the court, had said that the development was unprecedented. “It seems like the government is trying to decide which judge they want the verdict from,” he had alleged.
Judge Mohammad Naeem Arshad had been presiding over the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case against Maryam Nawaz and her cousin Yousuf Abbas; the Ramzan Sugar Mills case against Shehbaz Sharif; and money laundering cases against Hamza Shehbaz and Salman Shehbaz. He had been tasked with hearing these cases as the main judge was on summer holidays.
Judge Mushtaq Elahi had not been hearing any high-profile cases. He, however, was on the benches hearing a number of National Accountability Bureau cases.
The development comes as former accountability judge Arshad Malik is being investigated by the LHC for being at the centre of a video leak scandal that grabbed headlines in July.
The order for the judges’ repatriation is from the same day, August 26, when a seven-member administration committee of the LHC held a closed-door meeting to decide the fate of Malik, who was suspendedearlier that month.
An official statement on any decision taken during the meeting has yet to be issued.
