Acting as a referee judge, Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday sought replies from federal government and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) by September 11 in response to an appeal of Sharif family challenging the reopening of Ittefaq Foundry reference.
The NAB had reopened three references including Hudebiya Papers Mills, Jati Umra land purchase and Ittefaq Foundry against the Sharif family. An appeal against the reopening of two first references was already allowed by the referee judge. The judge had been hearing these appeals as referee judge after Justice Sheikh Najamul Hassan refused to further proceed with the matter. The then Chief Justice, Umar Ata Bandial, had appointed Justice Hassan as a "referee judge" after a division bench dealing with the matter of the Sharif family at Rawalpindi bench arrived at a dissenting observation on a law point.
The division bench differed on a point whether there was no need or requirement to give observations that NAB authorities were competent to proceed against the petitioners if investigation was again initiated. The Sharif family's counsel Ashtar Ausaf argued that the NAB had made the references on the directions of the then military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, to politically victimise his clients. He said references could not be reopened.