ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court of Pakistan Tuesday disposed of the National Accountability Bureau’s plea seeking cancellation of Senior Vice President Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Maryam Nawaz bail in the Shamim Sugar Mills case.
A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Shahid Waheed after hearing the arguments disposed of the case as the NAB prosecutor general withdrew the application to cancel PML-N vice president’s bail.
During the proceedings, NAB presented a written statement, asserting that after the amendments in the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, the NAB jurisdiction pertaining to this case no longer remains valid.
The Chief Justice, therefore, dismissed the NAB appeal. However, the NAB prosecutor requested that the order sheet should reflect that the case has been “disposed of” instead of “dismissed”.
The NAB in 2019 had sought the cancellation of Maryam Nawaz’s bail in connection with the Shamim Sugar Mill case. It was alleged that Maryam Nawaz was also unable to explain how she attained the funds to establish Shamim Sugar Mills and she in connivance with co-accused Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Abbas Sharif, acquired M/s Shamim Sugar Mills without explaining the source/ origin of funds. The NAB contended that the family obtained a $15 million loan ostensibly to establish the mill, despite its establishment predating the loan acquisition. NAB further maintained that shares amounting to over Rs7 million were transferred to PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz Sharif in 2008, which were subsequently transferred to her cousin Yousaf Abbas Sharif in 2010.