Pakistan: NAB grants bail to Nawaz Sharif's daughter Maryam, son-in-law
Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) that is currently probing ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family members for graft has granted bail to Maryam, Sharif's daughter, and her husband, Captain Muhammad Safdar on Monday.
Maryam Nawaz appeared in the Islamabad court on Monday morning, while her husband who arrived in the country earlier in the day, reached the court later. Both had to file surety bonds of 5 million Pakistani Rupees each for their bails.
The court also barred Captain Safdar from leaving Pakistan without the court's permission.
Captain Safdar was taken into custody on his arrival at the Benazir Bhutto International airport with his wife, Maryam, on Monday.
Heavy security was deployed at the court for the high-profile appearances.
The court, however, refused to grant a permanent exemption from appearance in court to Nawaz Sharif and only granted him exemption for today. Sharif had sought permanent exemption for attending to his wife who his ailing in London, United Kingdom.
The NAB prosecutors, however, demanded that the former PM be arrested as he left the country without informing the authorities probing the graft case, despite being a primary accused.
The court also issued perpetual warrants against Nawaz Sharif's two sons, Hassan and Hussain Nawaz, and declared them proclaimed offenders for failing to appear in court despite repeated summons in the case. Also, their case has been separated from that of the rest of the family members.
Maryam Sharif, however, said that her brothers will decide whether or when to appear before the court.
"My brothers live abroad... the laws of here (Pakistan) don’t apply to them," Dawn quoted Maryam Sharif.
The hearing was adjourned until October 13, when members of the Sharif family will be indicted.