New plea to bring new ‘facts to light’: Maryam

PML-N leader says if party nominates Shehbaz as PM, she will support him

ISLAMABAD:

PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday said her new petition against the Avenfield reference verdict would bring “new facts to light”.

“The new plea will reveal why the case was built against us [Maryam and her husband Capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar] and who was behind it,” she added while speaking to reporters outside the Islamabad High Court.

She added that even since her lawyer Amjad Pervaiz had been infected with Covid-19, he was suffering from back pain.

“It’s not possible for him to travel twice a week. The court has allowed me to change my lawyer.”

The PML-N leader said her lawyers were preparing the new petition and she had sought time from the court to submit it.

“How long will the opposition continue to be disqualified? The real face of the government has been exposed before the people.”

On query about PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar’s statement on PPP, Maryam replied that she did not want to comment on it.

“I don’t consider it [the issue] worthy of comment.”

Maryam further said Shehbaz Sharif was the president of the PML-N.

Read NAB to also probe Maryam in Safdar’s assets beyond means case

“If the party nominates him [Shehbaz] as the prime minister, we will support him.”

Talking about the situation in Afghanistan, the PML-N vice president stressed the need for Pakistan not to interfere in the internal affairs of the neighbouring country.

“We must work with the international community on the Afghan issue.”

Earlier, the IHC gave Maryam and her husband an extension to hire a new lawyer before September 23 to represent them.

A two-judge bench comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani was hearing their appeals against an accountability court verdict in the Avenfield Apartment case.

At the outset of the hearing, the PML-N vice president approached the bench and apprised that her lawyer could not represent her anymore because he has “contracted the coronavirus”.

“I met him two days ago and he told me he could not pursue my case,” Maryam informed the bench.

She said she needed one month to find a new lawyer, but the court gave her till September 23 to find a new counsel.

Maryam also requested the court to entertain another petition before deciding on the merits of the case. She said she wanted to bring “new facts” to light by filing a new petition.

During the previous hearing, the high court had expressed it displeasure over constant delays in the case and said the appeals filed in 2019-20 had been decided, but this case was still pending.

The bench had also expressed anger over “Maryam speaking loudly” as she arrived in the courtroom. It had remarked that the accused deserved bail cancellation as she did not know how to respect the court.