LAHORE: An accountability court on Friday handed over Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz and her cousin Yousaf Abbas to National Accountability

Bureau (NAB) on physical remand in Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case till August 21.

Accountability Court Judge Naeem Arshad conducted the proceedings wherein NAB officials produced Maryam Nawaz and Yousaf Abbas at the outset of the proceedings.

NAB Prosecutor Waris Janjua requested the court to grant 15 days physical remand of Maryam Nawaz and Yousaf Abbas for investigations. He submitted that Maryam Nawaz did not have any source of income but despite that she owned 11 million shares of Chaudhry Sugar Mills in 2008, received amounts from abroad and purchased property. She failed to respond to questions asked by the Bureau in connection with the case,he added.

He further submitted that Yousaf Abbas remained shareholder and director of Chaudhry Sugar Mills whereas his accounts were used for money laundering.

The prosecutor submitted that no court held trial of Chaudhry Sugar Mills case yet and after Panama references were filed only about the foreign assets of Nawaz

Sharif family.

However, Advocate Amjad Pervaiz on behalf of Maryam Nawaz and Yousaf Abbas submitted that arrest of his clients were not in accordance with Article 10 (A) of the Constitution as they were not informed about the reasons of their arrest in

advance. He argued that Panama JIT had held that Chaudhry Sugar Mills was a benami company of Nawaz Sharif but now  NAB linked his clients with it.

Subsequently, after hearing arguments of the parties the court reserved its verdict on plea for physical remand for some time but later handed over Maryam Nawaz and Yousaf Abbas to NAB on physical remand till August 21.—APP