A three-member bench of the Lahore High Court, headed by Chief Justice Muhammad Amir Bhatti, accepted the request for the recovery of the passport of Pakistan Muslim League (N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz.
Maryam had originally filed an appeal in the Lahore High Court on April 21 saying she wanted to go to London and visit her ailing father Nawaz Sharif, but later withdrew her plea. He had surrendered his passport to the court for bail in a case.
This is the second major relief that PML-N leaders have received from the courts in less than a week. Last week, the Islamabad High Court acquitted Maryam and her husband Captain (retd) Safdar in the Avenfield case.
During the hearing on Monday, the Chief Justice said that the court has granted Maryam’s bail and the judgment asked her to submit her passport to satisfy the court.
For the return of the passport, will the court have to annul the previous decision or modify it, Chief Justice Bhatti?
Maryam Nawaz’s lawyer Amjad Pervaiz said that delaying the case for a long time is tantamount to misuse of law.
Parvez said that the court often dismisses the case after such a long delay.
The Chief Justice inquired whether there is any reference to the era of the Prophet (peace be upon him) from where all the laws were made.
I would say that Allah gave Iblis a chance before punishing him, replied Maryam’s lawyer.
The Islamabad High Court had suspended Maryam Nawaz’s sentence on merit, now she has been acquitted, she requested the court to return her client’s passport.
Justice Bhatti asked the lawyer of the federation that what is the position of the federal government?
The Deputy Attorney General replied that the court has no objection to return the passport.
The Chief Justice said that the federal government had filed an appeal against his bail. On this, the Deputy Attorney General said that he has information about this.
The Chief Justice said that if the case is of your opponent, he will do everything possible to prove it. But if it’s your own, you guys just give up.
A lawyer representing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) told the court that no inquiry was pending against Maryam.
As the case against Maryam has been sent for review under the amended NAB rules, the NAB counsel said they no longer need her passport.
After which the court granted Maryam’s request and ordered to return her passport.
In the application, the position was taken that the vice president of Muslim League-N had accused NAB of making false allegations against Maryam Nawaz on political grounds in his application.
No sugar mills reference has been registered against him in the last four years, the plea said, adding that a person cannot be deprived of his fundamental rights for a long period of time.
During the last hearing, NAB had told the Lahore High Court that it has no objection to return the passport of Maryam Nawaz.
Maryam Nawaz had submitted her passport to the Lahore High Court for bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.
