Can the Hudaibya Paper Mills case be reopened today?
By
Saturday May 22, 2021
The government has decided to re-open the Hudaibya Paper Mills case, which first came to light over a decade ago, when the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a reference on the basis of a confessional statement by Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Ishaq Dar on April 25, 2000.
Dar, who at the time was in custody, admitted to laundering money to the tune of $14.86 million on behalf of the Sharif family through fictitious accounts. In return for his statement, Dar was pardoned by the then chairman NAB.
In 2014, Lahore High Court referee judge Justice Sardar Shamim quashed the reference on the grounds that if a re-investigation was allowed against the Sharif family, it would provide an opportunity to the investigators to pad up lacunas. Also in court, the PML-N had continued to claim that Dar's statement was taken under duress as he was in custody.