Maryam Nawaz gets interim bail
LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court has freed on bail the daughter of Pakistan’s ailing former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was similarly released last week from custody for medical reasons.
Monday’s court decision ordered Maryam Nawaz, who has been charged with money laundering, to surrender her passport and deposit bail equivalent to $450,000, with a further $65,000 bond. She was moved last week from jail to the same hospital where her father is being treated. Her condition wasn’t specified.
Monday’s development comes after the court last Tuesday suspended a conviction against the 69-year-old Sharif for eight weeks on medical grounds.
He was rushed to hospital and his doctors say his health remains unstable. Sharif served three times as prime minister but was removed by the Supreme Court in 2017 for corruption.
PAK STOPS VISA WORK IN KABUL EMBASSY
Pakistan closed its consular services in Kabul on Monday, citing unspecified security concerns and an Afghan official said the government would investigate the issue, though it was not officially informed of any concerns.
Pakistan’s embassy announced the closure in a statement, saying that the consular services would no longer be available until further information.
On Sunday, Pakistan’s foreign affairs ministry summoned the Afghan charge d’affaires to convey concerns about the safety of its diplomats in Kabul.
Gran Hewad, spokesman for the Afghan foreign ministry, said authorities will investigate the issue.
PAK PROTEST LEADER HOLDS ALL-PARTY MEET Radical cleric Maulana Fazl-urRehman, who galvanised tens of thousands of followers to march on Islamabad, met with opposition politicians on Monday to consider his next move after a deadline he imposed for the prime minister to resign passed without Imran Khan stepping down.
The government’s negotiating team headed by defence minister Pervez Khattak has decided to hold direct talks with Rehman on Monday. Rehman’s radical religious schools have provided men for both the Afghan Taliban militant group and the anti-government Pakistani Taliban.