Sharif family flouted court orders by ignoring ban on establishment of new mills: Lahore HC

Lahore [Pakistan], March. 5 (ANI): The Lahore High Court has observed that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's family flouted the court orders by disregarding the ban imposed by the government on the establishment of new mills, adding they even not bothered to seek permission for relocating it under the 'Relocation Policy'. "If so, what precedent are they setting for others in the country?" The Express Tribune quoted the detailed order issued by the division bench yesterday as asking. The bench was hearing intra-court appeals challenging a single-bench decision that had declared the mills' shifting illegal. The appeals were filed by the operators of Sharif family's sugar mills. Chief Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, who heads the division bench, said the ban imposed on establishing new sugar mills was interpreted by these companies (appellants) to their own advantage. The Chief Justice noted that these companies ignored the relocation policy saying the rule doesn't not apply to them. "The appellants' conduct amounts to taking the law into their hands or being the law unto themselves. This cannot be permitted in a democratic country governed by the Constitution and Rule of Law," the verdict read. The bench observed that the court was not inclined to grant any interim relief to the appellant companies in the light of their successive violations of court orders and government policy at this stage. The bench will resume its proceedings on March 28. The court had earlier on Thursday ordered to seal two sugar mills of the Sharif family and directed the Sessions Judge to comply with the orders. (ANI)