LHC gives permission to sell Sharifs' property
29 September, 2012
LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Friday disposed of a stay and allowed the committee formed to sell different units of Ittefaq Group of Industries to recover Rs 3 billion overdue against PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. The CJ held that the units were mortgaged with the banks at the time of securing loans and they would be sold to recover the money. Justice Bandial gave permission while dismissing an application by Meraj Din, a shareholder in the Ittefaq Group. Din had challenged the sale order on the grounds that the auction of these units was in violation of Section 284 of the Companies Ordinance. He said that he was also the shareholder in the group and without his consent the Sharifs could not surrender these units to the banks. He sought equal distribution of the assets among all shareholders. The four units, including Ittefaq Foundries, Ittefaq Brothers and Brother Steel Mills, were handed over to the banks to adjust the loan amount, but the banks had asked for cash. A petition was filed by a consortium of banks, including National Bank of Pakistan, Habib Bank Ltd, United Bank Ltd, Zarai Taraqiati Bank of Pakistan, Muslim Commercial Bank, PICIC Bank, First Punjab Mudarba and Corporate Law Authority in 1998 for winding up of three units of Ittefaq Group to recover about Rs 3 billion from the Sharifs. The petitioner banks had sought order for the recovery of their money through auction of Ittefaq Foundries, Ittefaq Textile Mills and Khalid Siraj Industries. End.
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