A two-judge bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC), on Monday, granted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) a one-week duration to submit its response to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice President, Maryam Nawaz’s application seeking the return of her passport.
The PML-N vice President submitted an application to have her passport returned in order to travel abroad and join her father, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in London, where he is undergoing medical treatment.
NAB given week-long deadline
As the two-judge bench of the LHC resumed hearing on Maryam Nawaz’s application, NAB Special Prosecutor Faisal Bukhari said that he requires more time to submit a response to the application filed by the PML-N vice President.
LHC asks NAB to file its reply in Maryam Nawaz passport case till Dec 24#ARYNewshttps://t.co/5l62RfOTvH
— ARY NEWS (@ARYNEWSOFFICIAL) December 16, 2019
The LHC bench, headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, allowed the request and the hearing was adjourned until December 24. The hearing also adjoined the bail petition filed by Maryam’s cousin, Yousaf Abbas, who has also been named in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills corruption case.
Maryam had surrendered her passport to the court after being granted bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills cases. Earlier, the bench had dismissed Maryam’s petition for the removal of her name from the Exit Control List (ECL) in order to travel to London and look after her ailing father, Nawaz Sharif.
The LHC bench had directed Maryam to first approach the Interior Ministry with her application and directed the Ministry to decide the matter within a week.
Read more: Government will not allow Maryam Nawaz to leave for London
The application, filed through Maryam’s lawyer Advocate Amjad Pervaiz, has referred to the federal government, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and the Chairman and the Director-General of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as the respondents.
In the petition, the PMLN vice President argued that her name had been added to the ECL without any notification, and she was not provided with an opportunity of a hearing. Presently, Maryam is free on bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case but continues to remain a principal suspect of the NAB investigation team.
Her name continues to remain on the ECL. Earlier in November, her father, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was granted permission by the courts and the government to fly to London on medical grounds, where he is undergoing treatment for his ailments.