ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday approved 14-day protective bail of Suleman Shehbaz, the son of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in the money-laundering case.

Suleman surrendered before the high court when Chief Justice Aamer Farooq took up his petition seeking bail in the case. He returned to Pakistan on Dec 11, ending his four-year exile in London after the IHC barred the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from arresting him in the case.

Suleman had been in London since 2018 when the NAB and the FIA launched multiple cases against him ahead of the general election and he moved out of Pakistan after appearing in a few hearings. He had been declared absconder for not appearing before courts.

Speaking to media outside the high court, Suleman hit out at former prime minister Imran Khan for political victimization of the Sharif family and leaders of the PML-N. While referring to the Daily Mail’s now-withdrawn allegations, he said Shahzad Akbar had been visiting the UK on Mr Khan’s nod to embroil the Sharif family in fake cases. He also accused the PTI chief of blackmailing former NAB chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal to tighten noose around the then opposition parties.

Accusing Mr Khan of massive corruption in his tenure, he also took a jibe at the former premier for selling a precious watch he received as a gift from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. He said the PTI chief had to be answerable for the misuse of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister s helicopter.

On Dec 7, the son of PM Shehbaz announced that he would end his exile and filed a petition in the IHC to seek protective bail in the case. “Despite the fact I have been living in the UK since October 27th, 2018, I had never received a notice from the FIA, who had filed a case against me while I was away. I left the country in 2018, but the case was only lodged in 2020 and afterwards. The court should set protective bail of two weeks,” he argued in his petition.