Maryam flouting, misusing bail concessions, says NAB

Tariq Butt

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has accused Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz of involvement in anti-state propaganda supporting the nefarious designs of the enemies of Pakistan.

On the basis of this allegation, the NAB has sought the cancellation of the bail granted to her by the Lahore High Court (LHC).

A two-judge bench comprising Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Asjad Javed Ghural will take up the plea on Monday.

The NAB move comes twelve days before the opposition launches its protest long march on to Islamabad.

A two-judge bench had released Maryam Nawaz on Nov.4, 2019 on bail with a direction to surrender her passport to the registrar office of the LHC to show her bonafide since the NAB had feared she could leave Pakistan.

In its petition, the NAB claimed that Maryam Nawaz has been flouting and misusing the concession of bail by continuously attacking the state institutions through political speeches and social media.

It said she has chosen a path of attacking the state institutions and tried to cause friction in the rank and file of armed forces and is also inciting the general public against them by publicly attacking them and the heads of other institutions.

The NAB alleged that Maryam Nawaz’s conduct attracts specific grounds to seek cancellation of post arrest bail.

It said it issued another call-up notice to her for Aug.11, 2020 but she deliberately hampered the proceedings by using her political workers and created a law and order situation. Her workers, the plea states, attacked the police team and tried to break the barriers placed outside the office of the NAB.

The police concerned took cognizance of the incident and a case was also registered against the perpetrators, the NAB said and asked the LHC to withdraw its order as it is a settled principle of law that if an accused person misuses the concession of bail he cannot be allowed to remain on bail.

Reacting to the NAB petition, senior PML-N leader and former Prime Minister Shahid Khakan Abbasi said that the move was meant to silence Ms Nawaz at a time when the government was under pressure because of the campaign launched by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

Meanwhile, top leaders of PDM, meet on Tuesday to mull over their strategy in the wake of the election of the Senate chairman in which their candidate faced defeat.

Before that, PDM stalwarts Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari and Maulana Fazlur Rehman have a teleconference to review the situation and agreed to investigate all opposition senators suspected to be ‘close’ to elected Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.

The trio spoke over the telephone to discuss the PDM’s loss in the elections for Senate chairman and deputy chairman despite holding more numbers that the ruling alliance.

The three leaders agreed to find out the reasons behind their loss in the elections. The cell phones of the suspected members would also be checked.

Fazlur Rehman is said to have asked Zardari that when in the chairman’s election, seven opposition votes were rejected, how then the government candidate got all these ballots in the election of deputy chairman.

These leaders also discussed preparations for the PDM’s upcoming long march and the alliance’s future. During the conversation, PDM chief Fazlur Rehman also told Sharif and Zardari that there was “no point” in holding the long march without the PDM lawmakers’ resignation from the assemblies.

It transpired during the teleconference that the seven senators who put the stamp on the name of Yousaf Raza Gilani were already in the ‘red circle’ and they were especially directed to do so to ensure that they cast vote as per their party policy. On Saturday PDM has announced to challenge rejection of its seven votes in the Senate chairman’s election, alleging that the election was stolen.

On the other hand, the government said the opposition is shedding tears as its politics are buried and the law did not allow any judicial process on the Senate proceedings.