LHC reserves verdict on Maryam Nawaz's bail petition

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday reserved its verdict on the bail petition filed by Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) vice-president Maryam Nawaz in Chaudhry Sugar Mills case, ARY News reported.

The high court will announce its verdict on November 4 (Monday)  over the plea of Maryam Nawaz seeking bail in the case.

A two-member bench headed by LHC’s Justice Ali Baqar Najafi resumed the hearing on the petition which was earlier postponed due to the absence of a senior official of National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The NAB prosecutor appeared before the court in today’s hearing where he continued arguments. He told the court that the petitioner sought bail for looking after her father and the law has not space for the genre of bail.

He continued that various inquiries are under proceeding against the PML-N vice president including the case related to the judge’s blackmailing scandal, Flagship and Al-Azizia references.

“I was told that Maryam Nawaz had spent a day with her father in Services Hospital and she is not facing exceptional circumstances for what she could be given bail. NAB chairman issued arrest warrant against Maryam Nawaz over her role in running fake accounts of Chaudhry Sugar Mills.”

Justice Najafi questioned for Maryam’s conviction in a corruption reference. To this, the prosecutor responded that she is convicted in Avenfield reference and sentenced for seven-year imprisonment. The sentence was suspended by the Islamabad High Court (IHC), he added.

The prosecutor pleaded LHC to reject the petition and declare it non-maintainable.

After the conclusion of arguments, the high court’s bench reserved its verdict which would be announced on November 4.

Background

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Hamza Shehbaz and Yousaf Abbas are being investigated in the reference filed by the accountability bureau over alleged money laundering through Chaudhry Sugar Mills investigation in the month of August.

NAB Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal had issued arrest warrants of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif on October 04.

During the probe, it was revealed that a $15 million loan was taken on the pretext to set up the Chaudhry Sugar mills despite the fact that it had already been established before the loan was acquired, the special assistant claimed. He had added that the loan was never transferred to Pakistan as shown by the record of the State Bank of Pakistan.

The probe stated 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 Yousuf Abbas Sharif, son of the late Abbas Sharif, in 2010.