Maryam seeks post-arrest bail – Pakistan

LAHORE: Maryam Nawaz, vice president of PML-N, approached Lahore High Court on Monday to obtain a post-arrest bond in Chaudhry Sugar Mills / money laundering case being investigated by the National Office of Responsibility (NAB) .

A two-judge bank consisting of Judge Ali Baqar Najafi and Judge Sardar Ahmad Naeem will handle the bail request on Tuesday (today).

Last week, an accountability court denied additional physical detention of Ms. Nawaz and her cousin Yousaf Abbas before the NAB by sending them to jail for judicial detention. They remained in physical prison for 49 days after their arrest on August 8.

NAB mainly accused Ms. Nawaz of committing money laundering through investments of large variable amounts as principal shareholder of Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM). She said she was involved in money laundering with the help of some foreigners during the 1992-93 period when her father Nawaz Sharif was prime minister.

Filed through lawyer Amjad Pervez, the petition said that all Sharif family properties, their business concerns and companies, including the CSM, had already been thoroughly investigated by the JIT formed by the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case. .

He said that the SC had not ordered NAB to submit any reference on the CSM or the assets owned by Ms. Nawaz.

The petition argued that section 9 (a) (v) of the National Accountability Ordinance of 1999 provided for a single offense, the commission of which may result in the acquisition of multiple assets or pecuniary resources by an accused person. But, he said, the acquisition of each financial asset or resource could not amount to a separate crime under the ordinance.

Therefore, he declared the authorization of an investigation on the same crime and the contaminated goods with bad intention and equivalent to the exercise of power of the president of the NAB.

He also questioned the jurisdiction of the office president to approve the contested investigation under the Money Laundering Act of 2010.

In addition, he said that neither the petitioner nor the co-suspect Abbas ever held a public office or remained dependent on Mr. Sharif. Therefore, he argued, the mischief of section 9 (a) (v) of NAO 1999 was not attracted in the case. He asked the court to release the petitioner on bail.

Posted on Dawn, October 1, 2019