Jail authorities cancel lawyers' meeting with Sharif, Maryam

A pre-arranged meeting between lawyers and jailed former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz was cancelled by the authorities at Adiala Jail here on Thursday, where the duo is currently serving their prison sentence in a corruption case.

Sharif's counsel Khawaja Haris and Maryam Nawaz's lawyer Amjad Pervaiz were scheduled to meet their clients in the morning. However, they were notified upon arrival that their meeting had been cancelled, Geo News reported citing one of the lawyers.

Haris said that the jail administration had asked them to suggest a date for another meeting, but did not give them any assurance that there would be no cancellation again.

According to jail authorities, a list of visitors to meet Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz in Adiala jail was readied as members of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) began arriving at the prison to meet their imprisoned leaders.

Authorities said that 17 members of the Sharif family and 23 members of the PML-N were named on the visitors' list for Thursday.

Among the PML-N leaders allowed to meet the imprisoned father-daughter duo were Asif Kirmani, Javed Hashmi, Pervaiz Rasheed, Ayaz Sadiq, Marriyum Aurengzeb and former governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Maryam Nawaz's son Junaid Safdar, PML-N Chairman Senator Zafarul Haq and Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair also reached the jail for the meeting.

Sharif was sentenced to 10 years in jail while his daughter received a seven-year term in the London properties case last week, days before the July 25 polls.

--IANS

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