The Lahore High Court (LHC) has sought a reply from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz on a National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) plea challenging her bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.
A two-member bench of the LHC comprising Justice Sarfaraz Dogar and Justice Asjad Giral took up the plea, during which Faisal Bukhari appeared before the court from the NAB side while Maryam Nawaz didn’t attend the proceedings.
The NAB lawyer told the LHC bench that the PML-N leader is misusing her bail and not appearing before the anti-graft watchdog. Maryam Nawaz appeared before the NAB office along with a huge number of party activists, who had pelted the office with stones, he alleged.
To this, the court said, “Maryam didn’t appear before the NAB in 2020 August and how come the bureau thought now to challenge her bail?”
“We waited due to the opposition’s protest and the Senate elections, otherwise, the allegation would have been raised that we are taking action against their protest,” the NAB lawyer replied.
The LHC while summoning reply from Maryam Nawaz until April 7, adjourned the hearing.
The NAB argued that Maryam Nawaz is misusing her bail as she refuses to appear before the bureau despite repeated summons. The anti-corruption body maintained that after her release on bail, she has been attacking state institutions through media and social media, and has continuously made false accusations and is engaged in anti-state propaganda. The plea further stated that several investigations are underway against the PML-N leader but she is not cooperating with the accountability watchdog despite being on bail.
The NAB argued that Maryam is obstructing the investigation by not appearing, and is using tactics to give the public the impression that state institutions are inactive. “She is deliberately making statements tarnishing the image of state institutions, and despite being released on bail, she is not cooperating with the NAB investigation; therefore, her bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills money laundering case should be cancelled,” the watchdog said in its plea.
Earlier on November 4, 2019, the LHC had granted bail to Maryam Nawaz who was arrested in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case.
The two-member bench of the high court, comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem, had announced the verdict and ordered her to furnish two surety bonds, each worth Rs10 million, and deposit an additional Rs70 million and surrender her passport to secure her release.
The Sharif family has been accused of using Chaudhry Sugar Mills for money-laundering and illegal transfer of its shares. According to NAB, the family took a $15 million loan on the pretext to set up the mill despite the fact that it had already been established before the loan was acquired.
The NAB maintains that more than Rs7 million worth of shares were transferred to PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz in 2008 through mill’s shares, which were later transferred to her cousin Yousaf Abbas Sharif in 2010.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Monday blasted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for moving the Lahore High Court (LHC) to seek cancellation of her bail in a graft case.
Talking to the media, she said the government is now using the judiciary for arm-twisting of opponents. “The NAB has now turned into an institution of political victimisation,” the PML-N vice president further alleged, adding whenever the corruption watchdog will summon her, she will turn up before it to expose it.
Talking about the grounds the bureau has based its plea on, she asked: “If a politician will not do politics than what else will he/she do? If you think you will intimidate me by threatening me of getting my bail revoked and sending me behind bars, it won’t work.” About the Senate election fiasco, she said: “The scandal of the installation of cameras in the Senate hall is bigger than rejection of votes cast in favour of Yousuf Raza Gilani in the Senate chairman election.” She said they will take the matter to the court. “God willing, Yousuf Raza Gilani will win,” she hoped.
