LAHORE: Former defence minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif on Saturday approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) for post-arrest bail in an inquiry of assets beyond means and money laundering case. A division bench of the LHC would hear the petition on Monday.

The petitioner contended in his petition that during the 22-day physical remand, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had not been confronted with any direct or circumstantial evidence, which could prove owning assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. He said mere ownership of a property did not constitute an offence under Section 9 (a) (v) of National Accountability Ordinance.

The petition said he had already provided the NAB an explanation of various sources of income justifying the acquisition of the assets owned and possessed by him. He argued that the onus to prove the allegations of owning any illegal asset was on the prosecution, which failed to establish its case.

The NAB alleged that Asif failed to explain the sources of his income and assets. The NAB had arrested him from Islamabad on December 29 last and later shifted to Lahore.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021