Maryam Nawaz may spend a night at women police station

ISLAMABAD: Maryam Nawaz Sharif will be the first convicted woman prisoner to be taken into custody by NAB Rawalpindi in recent years and she is likely to be shifted to a woman police station on July 13 on her arrival in Pakistan before presenting her before the accountability judge for her ultimate destination - jail - sources in NAB disclosed to The News.

The sources said that though NAB Rawalpindi has its own police station where normally people taken into custody are kept but in the case of Maryam Nawaz, she is not likely to be kept in NAB’s police station because she is a woman. Though NAB Rawalpindi has sought ten more woman police personnel from the Punjab Police and the lady police women have been put at the disposal of NAB but sources claim that it is highly unlikely that Maryam would also be kept at NAB’s police station which is in NAB Rawalpindi Bureau’s office.

Mian Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz Sharif and Captain ® Safdar have been sentenced for ten, seven and one year imprisonment respectively by the Accountability Court Number 1 in Avenfield Apartments’ Reference on last Friday.

The sources said that Mian Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz are likely to land in Lahore from London on July 13 at around 6:15 pm and from there it might take four hours for NAB to shift both the PML-N leaders to Islamabad and it might not be possible to present them before the Accountability Court Judge for their judicial custody and sending them to jail; therefore, Mian Nawaz Sharif would be shifted to NAB Rawalpindi and Maryam Nawaz to a woman police station.

The sources claim that Judge Muhammad Bashir has been requested by NAB prosecution department to be available whenever Mian Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz are arrested and taken into the custody of NAB Rawalpindi but the judge has not responded yet.

It is worth mentioning here that NAB Lahore would arrest the PML-N leaders and will hand them over to NAB Rawalpindi, which will then present them before the judge who has convicted the father and daughter in Avenfield Reference case. Reportedly, NAB Lahore has sought a helicopter for airlifting Nawaz and Maryam right from the Lahore airport to Islamabad. However, sources in NAB say that it is also possible that all other passengers of Etihad Airways landing in Lahore would be off-boarded and Mian Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz would not be allowed to come out of the plane and will be arrested and airlifted right from the airport to avoid Nawaz’s interaction with any possible crowd that would gather at the airport. NAB Director General Lahore is said to have devised a ‘foolproof’ plan for bringing Nawaz and Maryam to Islamabad without any hassle.

While in NAB Rawalpindi, a lockup has been made ready for Mian Nawaz Sharif’s possible detention for one night before Judge Muhammad Bashir would send him on judicial custody. While in Adiala Jail, Captain (R) Safdar has been shifted to better class jail or security barrack where he has a bed, a lawn in front of the cell and a badminton court as well.

Sources said that Captain ® Safdar while being in NAB Rawalpindi was served with “daal” but Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law demanded for a fish fillet. When Safdar’s medicine came from his home, fish fillet was also with it so Safdar enjoyed the fish while being in NAB’s custody for a night before being shifted to Adiala Jail. Sources said that it is not clear whether Nawaz Sharif would be sent to Adiala Jail or any of the rest houses of government would be declared sub-jail for him.