Clips show Maryam getting caught off guard

Censored parts from a TV interview take social media by storm

A couple of unaired video clips of Maryam Nawaz’s recent interview with a local TV channel show the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief organiser getting caught off guard when asked about her assets and Toshakhana gifts.

The video clips of the ruling party leader’s interview with anchorperson Mansoor Ali Khan were not aired but they were leaked to social media on Tuesday.

In these clips, one can see Maryam left baffled when confronted with tough questions about her father, former premier Nawaz Sharif, retaining a high-end Mercedes car from Toshakahan as prime minister during the 1990s.

Maryam initially expressed ignorance about the vehicle but when the interviewer supported his claims by documents, the PML-N leader asked him to stop recording and not to air that part of the interview.

In the censored video clip, the interviewer said Nawaz acquired a vehicle, received as a gift from a Saudi prince, from Toshakhana in violation of the Toshakhana rules.

In response to this, Maryam said that retaining a gift from Toshakhana after paying an amount as per the policy of the depository was not illegal. 

However, the anchor rebutted her claims, saying according to the rules it was not allowed to buy expensive cars from the gift repository.

In the other video, the anchorperson questioned Maryam about her alleged BMW car “which was gifted to her by the UAE’s royal family and the value of the car was declared 3.5 million in the tax year 2009-10”.

However, the PML-N leader responded saying she did not know about this and “will get back to you on this.”