LAHORE: Maryam Nawaz along with her cousin Yousaf Abbas, were sent to jail on 14-day judicial remand in Chaudhry Sugar Mills case by an Accountability Court, on Wednesday.
During the court proceedings, AC judge Ameer Muhammad Khan presided over the hearing. NAB prosecutors Hafiz Asadullah Awan and Haris Qureshi presented their arguments. They said further investigation of the two was required in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case.
Maryam and Abbas appeared before the court today after the expiration of her physical remand.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had requested a 15-day extension in their physical remand.
Maryam and her cousin had been arrested by NAB in the CSM case on 8 August. Since then, their physical remand has been repeatedly extended.
At the outset of the hearing, NAB’s investigating officer Hafiz Asadullah said that during the investigation of the two, they had found out about an agreement for the division of the family’s assets.
“The shares valued at Rs14.558 million were divided between Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, Abbas Sharif, Kulsoom and Shamim Begum,” he told the court.
During the investigation, a difference of shares worth Rs11.61m was identified.
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) record for 2008, shares valued at Rs26.2 million belonged to the CSM, Asadullah said, adding that the shares were not included in the Sharif family’s assets.
Additionally, investigation officer Usman Ifthikar said that in 2008, Maryam was having assets more than her known sources of income. So in order to investigate assets and income, they had summoned members of the Sharif family.
The NAB prosecutor argued that in 1998, Maryam received Rs160 million from a woman named Sadiqa Syed Mahmood. The same woman paid the loan of the mills. But, there was no evident link between Maryam and that woman.
“Want to investigate members of Sharif family in this context”, he continued.
He added that in 2015, Rs1.5 billion was spent in the shifting of Chaudhry Sugar Mills from Gojra to Rahim Yar Khan.
“We still need to assess the revenue spent on shifting Chaudhry Sugar Mills” he noted.
During hearing, Maryam complained that the NAB has not investigated from her during her physical remand. She alleged that she is being pressurized.
On the other hand, Maryam’s lawyer Amjad Pervaiz told the court when Chaudhry Sugar Mills was established, his clients were underage.
The court also asked what Maryam’s date of birth was. NAB’s investigative officer said that she was born in 1973 but he did not know the date of her birth.
Maryam added that she was born on October 28.
Moreover, Maryam’s lawyer said that the 2010 Anti-Money Laundering Act is not applicable to older cases. The purchase and sale of shares does not fall under NAB’s jurisdiction, he argued. This is the SECP’s job, he said.
The court after hearing arguments from both the sides rejected the accountability watchdog’s request for an extension in the remand and ordered the two be sent to jail on judicial remand for 14 days.
The court also ordered both the accused to be appear on October 9.
