LAHORE - The Lahore High Court yesterday issued fresh notices to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and others in a petition praying registration of a case against them for ‘illegally’ handing Aimal Kansi over to the US in 1998.

Justice Masood Abid Naqvi of the LHC passed the order on a petition moved by Barrister Javed Iqbal Jaffery.

The other respondents whom the notices were issued included Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan. The court sought reply from the respondents and put off further proceedings until March 16.

The lawyer-petitioner had submitted before the court that the respondents were paid large sums of money for handing Kansi over to the US. He alleged that the respondents later shifted that money abroad and accumulated even more assets.

Iqbal has prayed the court to issue directives to the respondents to bring those assets back to Pakistan.

Almost seven years had passed when the lawyer petitioner last moved petition to the LHC on Oct 19, 2010 praying to re-open the case about handing over of Aimal Kansi to the US.

Aimal Kansi, a native of Quetta, was given death sentence in United States in 1998 over charges of murdering two employees of Central Intelligence Agency outside the agency’s headquarter in 1993.

GEPCO HR DIRECTOR RELEASED

The Lahore High Court ordered to release on bail to Gujranwala Electricity Supply Company (Gepco)’s former Human Resources Director Hashmat Ali Kazmi allegedly involved in illegal appointments with the company.

A division bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najfi ordered the accused to furnish two surety bounds of Rs 500,000 each.

Hashmat Ali Kazmi, the accused, had moved the petition through his counsel arguing that the Supreme Court had released former managing director of Pepco in the same case. The counsel prayed that his client should also be released on bail.  However, the counsel of NAB opposed the bail plea and said that the accused was found guilty during the investigation.