LAHORE: PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz has told the Lahore High Court that she never misused the concession of bail granted to her in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
“The respondent is a law-abiding citizen and has never misused the concession of bail in any manner whatsoever,” Maryam stated in a reply submitted to the court on Tuesday. A two-judge bench is scheduled to resume its hearing on Wednesday (today) of a petition by the NAB seeking cancellation of the bail granted to the PML-N leader.
The bench had on the last hearing sought a reply from Maryam to the bureau’s petition. In her reply, Maryam denied the allegations by the NAB, saying that the impugned petition is enough to prove that the chairman of the NAB has acted in colourable exercise of authority. She stated it appears that the process of the Bureau is being misused to muffle the voice of a leader of an opposition party against the government which has miserably failed to deliver on any front.
Rejecting another allegation of attacking state institutions, Maryam submitted that she is a true believer in rule of law, across-the-board accountability and independence of institutions including the NAB. She argued that contents of the petition badly reflect the impartiality by the NAB as if its chairman is a spokesperson for the government.
She contended that the opposition parties, local and international intelligentsia, human rights organizations, European Commission and superior courts have expressed concern over the use of the NAB as a tool to muzzle dissent. She denied another allegation that she failed to appear and furnish required information before the NAB. “It is humbly prayed that the petition under reply be kindly dismissed with special costs being frivolous and vexatious,” she asked the court. The LHC had granted bail to Maryam on November 4, 2019.
