ISLAMABAD: Chaudhry Sugar Mills, believed to be owned by the ruling Sharif family but sealed under a high court order, requested the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow immediate commencement of its operations.

Chaudhry Sugar Mills, along with Haseeb Waqas Sugar Mills, was shut down and sealed on the directive of the Lahore High Court on March 2 for having been shifted to new locations in violation of an earlier stay order.

“It is prayed that the Supreme Court may grant leave to appeal and set aside the high court order by allowing the petitioner company to commence and not to place any restraint on the operation of its sugar mill in Rahim Yar Khan district,” pleaded the petition filed through senior counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan.

The petition argued that the high court order was beyond the pleadings of the parties, adding that there was nothing on record to establish interest of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the ownership or affairs of the mill since he did not own any shareholding in it.

The high court erroneously associated the prime minister with the affairs of the company, the petition said, adding that this was an error apparent on the face of the record.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2017