NAB moves LHC to cancel Maryam’s bail

By News Desk

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Saturday approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) to cancel the bail of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.

NAB Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, through a petition, had requested the cancellation of the bail, stating that Maryam was “misusing the bail concession granted to her”.

Iqbal contended that as per the apex court’s judgment, the bail was “not a matter of right but a concession given by the court”, and it could be withdrawn in specific circumstances. He added that the respondent was “not abiding by the principles of [the] justice system to enjoy that very concession”.

The chairman said the LHC had granted bail to Maryam Nawaz on October 31, 2019 in the investigations launched by the bureau into the Chaudhry Sugar Mills. He said the bureau had challenged the bail before the Supreme Court and the matter was still pending there.

He stated that the present petition was being filed on fresh grounds, showing that Maryam Nawaz “misused the process of law”. The chairman claimed that the respondent “attempted to hamper the proceedings pending against her through action of attacking regional NAB office on August 11, 2020”.

He also said the provincial police registered an FIR (first information report) over the incident, wherein the role attributed to the respondent could not be ignored.

He further submitted that the respondent was “openly threatening the institutions including the judiciary, in public congregations, media talks and through tweets”. Thus, she was “causing hatred and contempt against the government and the state institutions” which was “tantamount to sedition”, he added.

He requested the court to cancel her bail as the respondent “obstructed the process of law, challenged the writ of the government and ridiculed the judiciary”.

PML-N leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Marriyum Aurangzeb described the development to reporters as “an attempt to silence Maryam Nawaz” and termed the petition “frivolous” and a “waste of the court’s time”.