The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday informed the Lahore High Court (LHC) that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s passport was no longer needed in cases against her.

Maryam had submitted her passport to the LHC as a precondition for securing bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case. Earlier, NAB had opposed Maryam’s request for return of her passport.

In the response submitted to LHC on Tuesday, NAB said that it would not raise objections if Maryam’s passport was returned.

Return of passport: LHC’s full bench to take up Maryam’s petition

The LHC bench, which comprised Justice Ameer Bhatti, Justice Tariq Shaikh and Justice Ali Baqir, had sought a reply from NAB on Maryam’s petition.

During the hearing, the court was vexed over the absence of Maryam’s counsel Advocate Amjad Pervez.

“He does not even know which court summoned him,” the bench said, and adjourned the case till October 3, 2022.

The full bench was constituted after several judges excused themselves from hearing the petition of Maryam for personal reasons.

In the petition, Maryam contended that she had surrendered her passport in addition to surety bonds for bail in Chaudhry Sugar Mills inquiry initiated by the NAB.

Full bench to take up Maryam’s petition on 14th

She remained in the custody of the NAB for 48 days but it failed to complete investigation or file a reference before the trial court, despite a lapse of four years.

The petitioner had willingly returned to the country to serve the sentence in other NAB cases, she said.

Maryam pleaded that she was in dire need to go abroad to attend and inquire after the health of her ailing father. She asked the court to direct the deputy registrar (judicial) to return her passport.

She said that in the absence of any charge sheet or trial, she had not been able to exercise her fundamental rights for about four years on account of surrendering her passport.