The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday rejected the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) plea for the cancellation of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s bail.
The order was issued by a two-member bench in response to the anti-graft body’s application in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.
The court said that the PML-N VP’s bail cannot be suspended immediately. The written order also noted that NAB claimed that Maryam did not appear before it despite repeated summons.
The court directed the federal home secretary to file a detailed reply to the anti-corruption body’s request by April 7.
Moreover, NAB has summoned Maryam on March 26 in the the same case. Reports citing sources suggested the anti-graft body has unearthed new evidence in the case which prompted it to serve a summon on PML-N VP.
Maryam last appeared before the agency in August when her supporters and PML-N activists attacked the NAB offices in Lahore. Following the violent episode, the hearing was postponed.
On Saturday, it approached the LHC for the cancellation of Maryam’s bail, saying the suspect was taking “undue benefit” of her bail and is not cooperating with the agency despite being offered a reprieve.
Maryam — who was arrested in August 2019 in the case — was granted bail in November 2019 but was directed to surrender her passport as the prosecution feared she might flee the country.
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 agency informed the court that the PML-N vice president had not been able to give satisfactory answers to its inquiries regarding her shares in the mills. She was also unable to explain how she attained the funds to establish Shamim Sugar Mills, it said.
It further said that Maryam had not filed her tax returns for many years and was suspected of being in possession of assets beyond known means.
The Witch has been summoned