Hudaibya Mills case offers an opportunity

All eyes are on the Supreme Court for the formation of a new bench to hear the infamous Rs1.2 billion Hudaibya Papers Mills Corruption reference appeal, by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), against the 2014 decision of the Lahore High Court, after on Monday Justice Asif Saeed Khosa recused himself from hearing the case. 

As a new bench is likely to be formed in the next few days, the worried Sharif family, whose all major members are respondents in the case, with ‘ailing’ Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, and some NAB officials, is trying to exhaust the options to evade the troubling times. 

A huddle by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) in Lahore was convinced that the taking up the Hudaibya Papers Mills Case by the Supreme Court was unjustified. Neither they offered any explanation to justify their stance, nor did the media question their line of defence.

The case holds a significance for the Sharif family as Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and his family, which had escaped the NAB reference cases, opened in the wake of the Panama Gate verdict by the Supreme Court, is also a respondent in the case. Earlier, Shahbaz Sharif was heralded as the likely successor to the PML-N throne in case Nawaz Sharif and his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, were disqualified in the references.

Troubling times also awaits Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, currently under treatment for heart ailments in London, in the Hudaibya reference trial. Justice Khosa had in the Panama verdict ordered NAB to proceed against him for he was a prosecution witness when the reference was thrown out by the LHC. The LHC verdict, however, had not declared Ishaq Dar an innocent

The reference dates back to 2000 and states the reference accused launched the Hudaibya Paper Mills only to smuggle illicit money taking the benefit of the Economic Reform Act of 1992. Their method was: the money was first converted into foreign exchange bearer certificates, and then deposited in fishy accounts. The money withdrawn from these accounts was used by the Sharifs to get credit in Pakistani bills for the Hudaibya Paper Mills. That was indeed a smart white collar crime scheme.

The LHC verdict was too lenient in its verdict on the Sharif family. Despite the NAB plea, that the case needed to be reinvestigated, the court barred the bureau from reinvestigation, saying the new findings may be used to victimize the Sharif family. The more astounding act was, however, done the bureau itself, when it chose not to launch an appeal against the verdict in the next available forum – Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Now, when the Supreme Court is hearing the case, it is to be seen how the reference appeal will proceed. First, NAB will fight the case for waiver of the period in the filing the appeal against the case. If the case moves forward, the absence of respondents may hit delays after delays. Many are likely to get a berth booked in some cushy rooms of hospitals to escape personal appearance in the court.

The nation has waitedlong for justice, and as the ruling, influential people have been making the mockery of the justice.

The Hudaibya Paper Mills reference appeal should be a befitting answer to such elements.