Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday reserved its verdict on a statement of bail filed by PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case after the petitioner and the National Bureau of Responsibility (NAB) will conclude your arguments.
On September 30, the vice president of PML-N approached the superior court in search of a post-arrest bond in the case, which is being investigated by the NAB. After the sudden deterioration of the health of his father, Nawaz Sharif, on October 24 he filed a miscellaneous petition seeking an immediate bond for fundamental rights and humanitarian reasons.
A two-member bank consisting of Judge Ali Baqar Najafi and Judge Sardar Ahmad Naeem heard today's requests. During the process, the NAB lawyer, Jahanzaib Bharwana, opposed Maryam's request for bail for humanitarian reasons and said: "The Supreme Court verdicts have established that a suspect can only be granted bail in extraordinary circumstances.
"The case of Maryam Nawaz does not qualify as extraordinary."
"The prison superintendent had allowed Maryam Nawaz to meet her father," Bharwana argued.
At a previous hearing on the appeal, the court asked Maryam's lawyer if they had given her permission to meet her sick father, Nawaz Sharif, to which her lawyer, Azam Nazir Tarar, responded affirmatively.
The former prime minister was rushed to the Institute of Medical Sciences Services (SIMS) last week after his personal physician aroused the alarm about his deteriorating health. He is currently admitted to the hospital.
During today's hearing, the NAB lawyer said Maryam had played an "important role in money laundering" and added that a considerable amount of money was transferred from the accounts opened by CSM to the petitioner. He told the court that Maryam had failed to give satisfactory answers to NAB's questions about his actions at CSM. Nor could he explain how he secured the funds to establish Shamim Sugar Mills, Bharwana said.
The lawyer also said that the vice president of PML-N had not filed his tax returns for many years and was suspected of owning assets beyond known means.
In response to a court inquiry, Bharwana said the former prime minister's daughter had been convicted in the Avenfield corruption case and was sentenced to seven years in prison by an accountability court. He informed the court that the Islamabad High Court had suspended Maryam's sentence, as he was hearing a review appeal.
Maryam and her cousin Yousaf Abbas were arrested by NAB on August 8 in the CSM case. Later, on September 26, an accountability court in Lahore sent them to pretrial detention.
NAB suspects that Maryam is involved in money laundering through investments of large variable amounts, being the main shareholder of the CSM. It is alleged that she was involved in money laundering with the help of some foreigners during the period 1992-93, when her father Nawaz Sharif was the prime minister.
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1514018/lhc-reserves-verdict-on-maryams-bail-plea-in-chaudhry-sugar-mills-case