–NAB prosecutor opposes bail to PML-N VP, says Maryam’s case does not qualify as ‘extraordinary’ as per SC ruling
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday reserved its verdict on a bail plea filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case after the petitioner’s lawyer and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor concluded their arguments.
Maryam had approached LHC on Sept 30 seeking post-arrest bail in the case, which is being investigated by NAB. Following the sudden deterioration in the health of her father, Nawaz Sharif, she then filed a miscellaneous petition on Oct 24 seeking immediate bail on the basis of “fundamental rights” and “humanitarian reasons”.
A two-member LHC bench comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem heard the petitions on Thursday.
During the proceedings, NAB prosecutor Jahanzaib Bharwana opposed Maryam’s request for bail on humanitarian grounds and said: “It has been established by Supreme Court’s verdicts that a suspect can only be granted bail in extraordinary circumstances,” he said, adding: “Maryam Nawaz’s case does not qualify as an extraordinary one.”
“The jail superintendent had allowed Maryam Nawaz to meet her father [according to her wishes],” Bharwana argued.
In a previous hearing of the appeal, the court had asked Maryam’s counsel if she had been granted permission to meet her ailing father Nawaz Sharif, to which her lawyer, Azam Nazir Tarar, responded in the affirmative.
Nawaz was rushed to the Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS) last week after his personal physician raised alarm about his deteriorating health. He is currently admitted at the hospital.
Bharwana said that Maryam had played an “important role in money laundering” and added that a hefty amount of money was transferred from accounts opened by CSM to the petitioner.
NAB suspects Maryam of involvement in money laundering through investments of variable heavy amounts being the main shareholder of the CSM. It has alleged that she was involved in money laundering with the help of some foreigners during the period of 1992-93 when her father Nawaz Sharif was the prime minister.
The court was informed that Maryam had not been able to give satisfactory answers to NAB’s inquiries regarding her shares in CSM. She was also unable to explain how she attained the funds to establish Shamim Sugar Mills, Bharwana said.
The lawyer further said that the PML-N vice president had not filed her tax returns for many years and was suspected of owning assets beyond known means.
Maryam and her cousin Yousaf Abbas were arrested by NAB on Aug 8 in the case. Later, on Sept 26, they were sent to jail on judicial remand by an accountability court in Lahore.
