LAHORE: A special court on Friday granted pre-arrest interim bail to Suleman Shehbaz till January 7 in a money-laundering case registered by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The court ordered Suleman Shehbaz to submit surety bonds of Rs100,000 for availing the bail, besides directing him to join the investigation.
Special Court (Central) Judge Fakhar Bakht Bahzad conducted the proceedings, wherein Suleman Shehbaz surrendered. Advocate Amjad Pervaiz represented Suleman Shehbaz and submitted a bail application, saying that the agency nominated his client without any reason in the money laundering case. He submitted that his client never received summons but he was declared absconder in the case, adding that the legal requirements were also not fulfilled for the purpose. He pleaded with the court to grant benefit of bail to his client.
The court granted interim bail to Suleman Shehbaz till January 7 and also sought a reply from the FIA.
Earlier, on Friday, an accountability court also granted interim bail to Suleman Shehbaz till January 7 in a reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau.
It is pertinent to mention that Suleman Shehbaz returned to Pakistan after four years of exile in London in the second week of this month and obtained a 14-day protective bail from Islamabad High Court in two separate cases.
