LAHORE: A Lahore High Court special division bench will hear on Wednesday (today) a petition of PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz for the return of her passport so that she could travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah, after two judges recused themselves from the petition on Tuesday.

A bench comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Farooq Haider had issued notices in Ms Nawaz’s petition on Monday, however, Justice Haider recused himself from the matter when the petition came for hearing on Tuesday.

Later, Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti constituted a bench comprising Justice Najafi and Justice Asjad Javed Ghural to hear the petition.

However, Justice Ghural also recused himself from the matter when the bench assembled to take up the petition.

The bench sent the case file back to the chief justice for its fixing before any other appropriate bench.

Now, a division bench comprising Justice Najafi and Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem would hear the petition on Wednesday (today).

The other day, Advocate Ahsan Bhoon on behalf of Ms Nawaz argued before the bench that the petitioner wanted to perform Umrah in the last days of Ramazan.

Ms Nawaz had surrendered her passport before the court when allowed post-arrest bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case on Nov 4, 2019. However, the bench had ordered her to surrender passport to prove bona fide as the NAB feared she could flee the country.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2022