LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday told the Lahore High Court that it did not require PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz’s passport that she had surrendered in compliance with a court order while seeking bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.

In its parawise comments submitted before a full bench, the anti-graft watchdog did not deny the contention made in her petition regarding the Supreme Court judgments wherein it had been held that registration of criminal cases could not deprive a citizen from exercising the constitutional rights.

On Tuesday, her counsel Amjad Pervez did not appear before the bench, headed by Chief Justice Mohammad Ameer Bhatti and also comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh, as his associate told the bench that the former would arrive soon as he had an appearance before another court.

Being annoyed with the absence of her counsel, Chief Justice Bhatti observed that Advocate Pervez should have known in which court he was supposed to appear first.

The chief justice noted that the full bench assembled to hear only one case. The bench then adjourned further hearing till Oct 3.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2022