LAHORE    -    A member of the Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench Thursday recused himself from hearing an application, filed by Paki­stan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz Sharif for re­turn of her passport.

Her application was fixed for hearing before a bench comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Anwaarul Haq Pannu.

However, Justice Anwaarul Haq recused himself from hearing the application, at the very outset of the pro­ceedings. At this, the bench referred the application to LHC chief justice with a re­quest for formation of a new bench to hear the matter.

Through a fresh civil mis­cellaneous application filed in her pending writ peti­tion, Maryam Nawaz submit­ted that she surrendered her passport to the LHC registrar office after a division bench granted her post-arrest bail on merit in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case in 2019.

She submitted that the Na­tional Accountability Bu­reau failed to file the refer­ence despite a lapse of about three years. She submitted that freedom of movement was a fundamental right and no one could be deprived of that right for a long time. She pleaded with the court to is­sue directions for return of her passport