Maryam Nawaz arrested by NAB in Chaudhry Sugar Mills case

Yousaf Abbas, a cousin of Maryam Nawaz Sharif, has also been arrested by NAB.

In a press release, NAB stated that Maryam Nawaz and Yousaf Abbas had been arrested in connection with the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case. The press release added that on the directives of NAB chairman a team of doctors would conduct a medical examination of Maryam Nawaz and Yousaf Abbas. Both will be presented before an accountability court on Friday for remand. 

Maryam Nawaz Sharif was arrested prior to meeting her father, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif at the Kot Lakhpat Jail. She was later taken to the NAB office in Lahore. 

Maryam Nawaz Sharif had been summoned by NAB at 3pm today for questioning in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.  According to reports, she had informed NAB she would not be appearing as she had to meet her father.  

The PML-N leader had appeared before NAB on July 31 and recorded her statement in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case. 

PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif condemned the arrest of Maryam Nawaz. In a statement, Shehbaz said incompetent leaders were taking the country towards a path of destruction. He questioned the intention of arresting Maryam Nawaz before Eid.

“What type of accountability or justice is this that the news comes before the arrest,” said Shehbaz. 

The arrest of the PML-N leader was mentioned by Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari during the National Assembly session earlier today. “In this Naya Pakistan you have arrested Maryam Nawaz without any conviction,” he said.  

There was also a clash between PML-N and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmakers outside the Parliament following the arrest of Maryam Nawaz Sharif. 

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar on Wednesday said the Sharif family had used Chaudhry Sugar Mills for money-laundering and illegal transfer of its shares.

Addressing a press conference, Shahzad Akbar said in the year 2008, the mill’s shares were transferred to Maryam Nawaz, who later transferred some seven million of them to Yousaf Abbas in 2010.