F.P. Report
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz until April 12, barring the NAB from arresting her.
The court also issued notice and sought a reply from the NAB while hearing Maryam Nawaz’s petition filed for seeking protective bail.
Maryam Nawaz was herself present in the courtroom along with her lawyers – Amjad Pervaiz and Azam Nazir Tarar.
Captain (retd) Safdar, Pervaiz Rashid, Rana Sanaullah and other leaders accompanied Maryam Nawaz to the court. Earlier, LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan has ordered the immediate hearing of Maryam’s petition.
Two-judge LHC bench, led by Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, took up the petition. The other member of the bench was Justice Asjad Javed Gharral.
In the application, the petitioner prayed that she wanted to cooperate in the investigation being conducted by the NAB against her. However, Maryam said she feared that the Bureau would arrest her.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has summoned the PML-N Vice-President to appear before its Lahore offices on March 26 in connection with investigations into Chaudhry Sugar Mills (money laundering) and 148 kanals of land that she allegedly purchased in Lahore illegally.
For that day the PML-N leadership has directed all its members in the national and provincial assemblies from Punjab along with other supporters to accompany party’s vice-president to the NAB office at Thokar Niaz Beg in Lahore.
Since the PML-N is also an important component of the 10-party opposition alliance, PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had also directed all coalition leaders and workers to be present on the occasion in hundreds of thousands to make the power show a great success.
On Tuesday, the Interior Ministry had approved the deployment of Rangers personnel at the offices of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Lahore, on March 26.
The NAB’s request had been accepted and the Interior Ministry gave its nod to the deployment of the paramilitary force for external security of the NAB offices in Lahore. However, the inside security of the NAB would be the responsibility of the Bureau and the police.
