Maryam Nawaz withdraws appeal for return of passport

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz withdrew on Wednesday an appeal seeking the return of her passport so she could perform Umrah.

This week, three benches of the Lahore High Court (LHC) declined to hear the case.

In the petition, the PML-N VP said that she had surrendered her passport to the LHC in 2019 to secure bail from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.

She said that she wanted to go to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah and urged the court to grant her a one-time exemption and issue orders for the temporary return of her passport.

A day earlier, the Lahore High Court formed a fourth bench that included Justice Ali Baqir Najfi and Justice Sardar Ahmed Naeem to hear Maryam’s request. However, during the hearing on Wednesday, Maryam’s lawyer Advocate Amjad Pervaiz informed the court that she was withdrawing the petition.

This comes as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif prepares to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on his first official foreign visit where he is expected to perform Umrah along with 16 members of the Sharif family.

On Tuesday, Justice Asjad Javaid Ghural and Justice Farooq Haider, on two separate LHC benches which were headed by Justice Najafi, recused themselves from hearing Maryam’s petition.

In an earlier hearing, Supreme Court Bar Association President Advocate Ahsan Bhoon, who was representing Maryam in the absence of Advocate Pervaiz, argued before the court that the petitioner wanted to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah.

The court then ordered the NAB lawyer to clarify the accountability bureau’s position. The LHC bench asked for an updated exit control list, which names people not permitted to leave Pakistan.

The initial bench of the LHC, comprising Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Anwarul Haq Pannun, recused itself from hearing Maryam’s plea on April 21. They said that the petition should be heard by the same bench that had granted her bail.

Meanwhile Nawaz Sharif, PML-N founder, was recently issued a passport. However, it has been reported doctors have advised him against traveling to Saudi Arabia owing to his health condition.