News Desk |
An accountability court extended physical custody remand of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz and her cousin Yousuf Abbas for a fortnight in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case. The suspects will now be produced before the court on September 4.
Previously, the court had granted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) 12-day physical remand of PML-N leader and her cousin. Maryam and Abbas were arrested from Kot Lakhpat Jail, where they had gone to meet incarcerated prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
A heavy contingent of the police force, including the Anti-Riot Force and women police, were deployed to maintain law and order. Many roads leading towards the accountability court were closed using barbed wires, containers and barricades.
Special prosecutor Hafiz Asadullah and Haris Qureshi presented arguments on behalf of the accountability watchdog. Advocate Amjad Pervez was in the court on behalf of Maryam and her cousin.
The accountability bureau had presented a list of questions to which Maryam had not responded.
During the hearing, the prosecutor said that Maryam remained the director of Chaudhry Sugar Mills from 1992 to 1997, adding that the “information regarding the purchase of shares is not being provided”. He added that the bureau was investigating where the money had come from.
In addition, he said, Yousaf was in the management of Chaudhry Sugar Mills and his account were also used for transactions.
Captain Safdar Tries to Attack Policemen
Meanwhile, Captain (retd) Muhammad Safdar was seen grabbing a baton from a policeman and tried to hit him but another cop grabbed it from behind.
In the video, Safdar can be seen clashing with the Lahore police at the premises of the accountability court after he reached there for his wife Maryam Nawaz’s hearing in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.
Captain Safdar tried to attack police officers#MaryamNawaz #pmln #ImranKhan #PMIK #PTIGovernment #PTI pic.twitter.com/ses9LGDDvp
— The Trending Talk (@TtrendingTalk) August 21, 2019
Suspicious Transactions in Maryam’s Bank Account
In an earlier hearing, Asadullah had said that suspicious transactions had been carried out in Maryam’s bank accounts, adding that NAB had summoned her twice. He said that Maryam was a shareholder of CSM while Abbas had been a shareholder as well as director.
In his arguments, he had informed the court that Maryam did not provide satisfactory answers to the questions, adding that shares that she had purchased in 2008 were transferred to her father in 2015.
Read more: Why NAB case against Maryam Nawaz may end her political future?
When the court inquired when the inquiry was initiated against Maryam, the NAB prosecutor said that Maryam was summoned but she had failed to appear before the bureau prior to her arrest.
Initially, the investigative officer said that Maryam had shares of over Rs800,000 and in 2008 there were shares worth Rs0.41 billion in her name. He said that she was asked who the foreign investor was but had refused to respond. The accountability bureau had presented a list of questions to which Maryam had not responded.