LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday restrained the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from taking coercive measures against former chief executive officer of the Brothers Sugar Mills, believed to be owned by the Sharif family.

Petitioner Mian Aslam through counsel Ijaz Awan pleaded that the NAB recently initiated an inquiry against the sugar mills on charges of defaulting on payments to sugarcane growers.

The counsel contended that the matter of the default payments pertained to 2014-15, however, he had alreadyresigned from the management of the sugar mills.

He said the NAB issued call-up notices to the petitioner, which amounted to cause him harassment.

Moreover, the counsel argued that the matter regarding non-payment to the growers did not fall within the ambit of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999.

He asked the court to set aside the call-up notices being issued to the petitioner by the NAB for being unlawful and without any lawful jurisdiction.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi sought a reply from the NAB within a fortnight and also restrained it from taking coercive measure against the petitioner.