Maryam Nawaz, the PML-N's vice-president, has been ordered by the court to surrender her passport to a judicial officer.
LAHORE: (Urdu Point/Pakistan Point News-Nov 4th, 2019) PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz may not fly abroad even after her release on bail in Chaudhary Sugar Mills case as she has been ordered by the Lahore High Court to surrender her passport to the court.
A Lahore High Court division bench heard her bail petiton and directed her to submit two surety bonds wroth Rs 10 million each. However, the time period of the bail granted to the PML-N leader has yet not been cleared as the written order of the court is yet pending.
The bench clearly observed that Rs 70 million fine in case she failed to submit her passport to a deputy registrar of the Lahore High Court.
Last week, a LHC division bench headed by Justice Ali Baqir Najfi will reserved the judgment on Maryam Nawaz's release after hearing lenghty arguments of both sides.
The NAB had clearly opposed her bail saying that she may fly abroad or may go underground in case of her bail in the case. The NAB also informed the bench that Maryam Nawaz was started in accordance with the law on the basis of a report of Financial Monitoring Unit in 2018.
The bench accepted the NAB's plea and directed her to surrender her passport to the court so that she could not fly abroad.
Advocate Amjad Pervez, the counsel of Maryam Nawaz, argued that money laundering case against his client was baseless and that she was made Chief Executive of Chaudhry Sugar Mills only in papers. NAB had breached law and arrested Maryam in money laundering case despite revealing all the assets in Panama Leaks case, he argued.
During the proceedings, the NAB had submitted preliminary investigative report to the LHC submitting that PML-N vice-president’s crime was not against one individual but the entire society, and she on obstructed the probe against her. "Yousaf Abbas, accused in Chaudhry Sugar Mills reference, had also tried to escape before", the NAB said.
It may be mentioned here that PML-N leader owned 8,064,000 shares of Sugar Mills, while from 2008 to 2010, she became the owner of 47% shares. Nawaz Sharif and his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, invested in Chaudhry and Shamim Sugar Mills, but both of them did not disclose their investments.
Maryam Nawaz last week moved her petition before the LHC seek her release on bail.
The same bench allowed bail to Nawaz Sharif, her father, in the same Chaudhary Sugar Mills case on medical grounds.
On August 8, NAB team arrested Maryam Nawaz outside the Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore when she went there to see her father in jail. She did not appear before the NAB to provide the required details of foreign investment in sugar mills while she was also failed to satisfy the bureau regarding source of income for purchasing the shares. NAB had also claimed that three foreigners had transferred 11000 shares worth millions of rupees on Maryam Nawaz’s name.
On July 19, accountability court had turned down petition of NAB claiming Maryam Nawaz had produced a bogus trust deed in Avenfield reference.
Judge Mohammad Bashir had declared anti-corruption watchdog’s appeal as unmaintainable and ruled that no action can be taken in this regard until the decision of Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Maryam’s petition against the Avenfield properties verdict.
On July 6, 2018, accountability judge Mohammad Bashir had convicted former premier Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz in Avenfield properties reference and sentenced them 10 years and 07 years imprisonment, respectively.
In the verdict, judge Bashir had declared that “The trust deeds produced by the accused Maryam Nawaz were also found bogus… In view of the role of this accused Maryam Nawaz, she is convicted and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for seven years with fine of two million Pounds.”
She was arrested and shifted to Adiala jail. Later, in September 2018, and was released from jail after the Islamabad High Court suspended her prison sentence.
