LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday told the Lahore High Court that no warrant for the arrest of PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz had so far been issued in an inquiry into the alleged illegal acquisition of land in Jati Umra.

Headed by Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, a two-judge bench was hearing a petition of Ms Nawaz for interim pre-arrest bail already granted to her in the inquiry. Ms Nawaz was present before the court along with her legal team and other leaders of the party.

A special prosecutor of the NAB told the bench that the chairman of the bureau had not issued an arrest warrant for the petitioner so her custody was not yet required.

In light of the prosecutor’s submission, the bench disposed of the petition and directed the NAB to give the petitioner 10-day time, as per a Supreme Court’s decision, for approaching the court if her arrest warrant was issued.

NAB directed to give her 10 days for seeking bail in case of warrant

The apex court had in 2018 ruled in Ayaz Khan Niazi’s case that the NAB, after issuance of arrest warrants, should give 10 days to a person to enable him/her to approach a court for pre-arrest bail.

The LHC had granted the pre-arrest bail to Ms Nawaz on March 24 when she was summoned by the NAB for March 26. However, the NAB cancelled her appearance in the wake of increasing cases of coronavirus.

Talking to the media, Ms Nawaz said the NAB was an institution of ‘political engineering’ and [the bureau] acted on the instructions of Prime Minister Imran Khan against his political opponents.

However, she said the ‘unholy alliance’ of the prime minister and the NAB was getting weak and nobody was ready to believe them. She said the NAB had wanted to arrest her on the day of opposition’s long march.

She congratulated the people of Daska on the victory of PML-N in a recent by-election and termed the defeat of the PTI a beginning of a change. She said the people of Daska defeated the state machinery in the by-poll.

Ms Nawaz claimed that the PML-N had already won the by-poll in February but the PTI thought it appropriate to get embarrassed and exposed once again in the re-polling.

She asked the prime minister whether Jahangir Tareen Khan was not a ‘sugar mafia’ when the former used to enjoy the latter’s jet plane and money.

Ms Nawaz said the PDM would remain intact with the available members. She said PDM’s chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman would respond to the letter of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

She also told the media about her upcoming visit to Karachi to support PML-N’s candidate Miftah Ismail in the April 29 by-election of NA-249.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2021