NAB postpones Maryam Nawaz's March 26 hearing
- By Mazhar Iqbal -
- Mar 25, 2021
LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday postponed the hearing of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz scheduled for March 26 (tomorrow) due to rising coronavirus cases, ARY News reported.
According to a press release issued by the anti-graft watchdog, a meeting was held today to discuss the hearing tomorrow alongside the recommendations provided by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) in wake of the third Covid wave.
The meeting decided to postpone the Maryam Nawaz hearing scheduled for March 26 as the NCOC has banned gatherings of all kinds.
Read: Maryam’s appearance: NAB’s plea for Rangers deployment approved
The anti-corruption watchdog in a statement said that the new date for Maryam’s hearing will be announced later at an “appropriate time”.
The corruption watchdog had summoned Maryam last year in August but cancelled her hearing after a clash erupted between PML-N supporters and the police personnel outside the bureau’s Lahore office ahead of her arrival there.
PDM rally outside NAB office
Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had announced to show its political muscle outside the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) office in Lahore during the appearance of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz.
Also Read: NAB summons Maryam after ‘new’ money laundering evidence emerges
The PDM head and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) supremo Maulana Fazlur Rehman announced to lead a rally towards the NAB Lahore office.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Central Punjab President Qamar Zaman Kaira also announced that party workers of PPP will accompany Maryam Nawaz Sharif when she will appear before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on March 26.
Maryam granted pre-arrest bail
The Lahore High Court (LHC) has approved the interim bail of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz till April 12 and sought a reply from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
A two-member bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) comprising Justice Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Asjad Javaid Ghural heard the bail petition of Maryam Nawaz in the Jati Umra land case.
The court granted the interim bail to Maryam Nawaz till April 12 and asked the petitioner to submit two surety bonds worth Rs1 million each. The high court also directed the anti-corruption watchdog to submit its response in the bail petition.
Read More: PPP workers to accompany Maryam Nawaz during NAB appearance
Cases
The NAB has summoned Maryam for questioning in connection with its ongoing investigations into Raiwind land allotment and the Chaudhry Sugar Mills cases.
According to the corruption watchdog, the Sharif family members allegedly illegally acquired 3,500 kanals of land in Raiwind in collusion with the district administration and revenue officials in 2013.
In 2015, then Lahore Development Authority (LDA) director general Ahad Cheema and the Lahore deputy commissioner altered the master plan, declaring hundreds of kanals of land green-land area, the NAB said.