Maryam Nawaz remanded in NAB custody for 14 days

LAHORE: An accountability court on Wednesday granted 14 days’ physical remand of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz Sharif to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.

She was produced before the court amid tight security. A heavy police contingent had been deployed to maintain law and order around and inside court premises where a large number of PML-N activists had also gathered. A few incidents of skirmishes were also reported.

During court proceedings, the NAB prosecutor pleaded for the grant of physical remand on the grounds that NAB had found evidences of money laundering in the case that needed to be investigated further.

Maryam’s counsel, however, opposed the move, stating that Maryam’s stance in the case had already been presented during the Panama scandal investigations by a Joint Investigation Team (JIT).

The court, after hearing the arguments, remanded Maryam and her cousin, Abbas Yousaf Sharif, in NAB custody for 14 days and ordered that they be produced in court on September 18.

Hamza Shehbaz

Meanwhile, the accountability court sent the opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly, Hamza Shehbaz Sharif, to jail on 14 days’ judicial remand in the assets beyond means case.

The NAB prosecution had asked for a five-day extension of remand. However, the defence counsel argued that the remand had been completed and NAB had already been given 84 days’ physical remand. The court then turned down the NAB plea for remand extension and sent Hamza Shehbaz to jail for 14 days.