Overview
- The Lahore High Court, which ruled Tuesday, threw out a petition against the money laundering acquittals of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz as inadmissible.
- Chief Justice Aalia Neelum upheld the registrar’s objection, finding the petitioner lacked legal standing and had approached the court after undue delay.
- The judge said the plea did not qualify as public interest litigation because the filer was not an affected party in the case.
- Advocate Vishal Ahmed Shakir, represented by Aamir Saeed Raan, argued the special court accepted acquittal pleas before indictment and without hearing prosecution evidence, and he claimed the decision came soon after Shehbaz took office.
- Express Tribune reported the Federal Investigation Agency did not appeal the trial court’s October 2022 acquittal, which helps explain why the earlier verdicts remain intact.