LHC extends Hamza Shehbaz's pre-arrest bail till April 25

The Lahore High Court (LHC) extended on Wednesday the pre-arrest bail of Leader of the opposition in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz in a case pertaining to assets beyond known source of income.

During the hearing, the National Accountability Bureau(NAB) submitted its reply to the court. The court extended the pre-arrest bail of the opposition leader till April 25 and has also adjourned the hearing on the same day, local media reported.

Last week, the bureau interrogated Hamza for two and half hours. NAB sources have revealed that Hamza had declared property worth Rs 20 million in 2003 while his assets grew 2,000 percent during the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz ( PML-N) government. It was alleged that Hamza has laundered Rs 85 billion.

On April 8, the high court had extended Hamza's interim bail till April 17. NAB wants to arrest the PML-N leader in a case pertaining to assets beyond known source of income. On April 5 and April 6, the bureau had raided the PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif's house in Lahore to arrest Hamza.

However, both times the bureau was unsuccessful in arresting Hamza. The bureau officials had come with an arrest warrant. The LHC had stopped NAB from arresting the opposition leader and had granted him pre-arrest bail.