ISLAMABAD, NOV 13 (DNA) – A three-member Supreme Court (SC) bench that was formed to hear National Accountability Bureau (NAB) appeal to reopen Hudaibiya Papers Mills against Sharif family has dissolved (Monday).

The bench was split after Justice Asif Saeed Khosa excused himself from hearing the matter, saying that he was given the case due to office’s mistake. He continued, “It seems that the office has not read my verdict on Panama Leaks case. I wrote 14 paragraphs over Hudaibiya Papers Mills in the April 20 decision.”

Earlier, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar had formed a three-member bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa that also included Justice Dost Mohammad and Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel over Hudaibiya Papers Mills case.

The bench was scheduled to conduct proceeding today.

On September 20, NAB filed a petition in Supreme Court (SC) against Lahore High Court (LHC) verdict to close the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case as Sharifs were cleared in this and Raiwind Assets references.

Awami Muslim League (AML) Chief Sheikh Rasheed had submitted a petition in SC, stating that on July 21, amid hearing of the Panama Papers case, NAB had assured the court to submit reply in seven days on Hudaibiya case but it failed to do so within the mentioned time.

The Hudaibiya Paper Mills is basically about money laundering of Sharif family during 1990s.

The case was lodged against Nawaz Sharif ,his brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Shehbaz’s son and Member of National Assembly Hamza Shehbaz and other members over Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar’s confessional statement on April 25, 2000 before magistrate in Lahore.

The reference was afterwards dismissed by LHC on March 11, 2014 in response to a writ petition filed in 2011, stating that Dar was pressurized to record the statement.