LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday directed the federal government to submit its reply on a petition against alleged foreign assets of 64 known personalities of Pakistan, including the incumbent and former rulers and their families, advocates, two ex-chief justices and aproperty tycoon.

Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan was hearing the petition filed by Barrister Javed Iqbal Jafree when a deputy attorney general appeared and sought more time to file a reply on behalf of the government.

The judge allowed the request and directed the law officer to ensure submission of the reply on next hearing onNov 17.

Justice Khan also observed that taking action against the money launderers was the job of the government.

Barrister Jafree stated in his petition the respondents/individuals had transferred at least $400 billion to foreign countries through money laundering, causing a huge loss to the national exchequer.

He said the politicians mentioned in the petition had not yet submitted before the court their affidavits of the money laundering despite repeated court orders.

Mr Jafree pleaded that Pakistan would have no need to obtain foreign loans if assets of the politicians were brought back to return the international loans. He prayed to the court to issuedirections to these politicians to bring back theirassetsto the Pakistan.

The respondents included incumbent Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his wife Kulsoom Nawaz, son Husain Nawaz, and brother Shahbaz Sharif (Punjab chief minister), PTI chief Imran Khan and his former wife Jemima Goldsmith, exprime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his wife, former president Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf, PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat, Pervaiz Elahi, Malik Riaz Husain of Bahria Town, former chief justices of LHC Khwaja Sharif and Iftikhar Husain Chaudhry, former presidents of SCBA Hamid Khan, Asma Jahangir, Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan and his wife Bushra Aitzaz.

HASSAAN`S PORTFOLIOS: TheLahore High Court on Tuesday directed the Punjab government to submit record of all offices previously held by Khwaja Ahmad Hassaan, PML-N candidate for mayor of Lahore after being elected unopposed chairman from UC-107.

Justice Shahid Karim was hearing a petition filed by Aziz Masood, a voter of the UC.

Petitioner`s counsel Sheraz Zaka told the court that Mr Hassaan had held a public office as vice chairman of LDA and being a director of Lahore Waste Management Company also got himself involved with the local government administration.

He said under the Local Government Act 2013 a person who was in the service of a statutory body controlled by a provincial government was ineligible to con-test the election before the lapse of two years.

He said the returning officer accepted the nomination papers of Hassaan without deciding his objection.

Counsel for Hassaan told the court that the objection was not raised before the returning officer during scrutiny of the nomination papers. He said the petition was not maintainable.

A deputy attorney general stated that the returning officer was bound under the rules to hold summary proceedings on the objections raised against any candidate.

The judge adjourned further hearing till Thursday (tomorrow) and directed the provincial government to submit record of the posts previously held by Mr Hassaan.