Sharif, Maryam Nawaz unlikely to be shifted to guest house

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz are unlikely to be transferred to the Sihala Rest House owing to its lack of proper security arrangements needed for the high-profile prisoners, media reports said on Saturday.

The accountability court that convicted Sharif and his daughter in a corruption case had ordered they be sent to Adiala Jail after they were taken into custody at the Lahore airport and produced before it on July 13.

However, the Islamabad Chief Commissioner had also ordered shifting of both the father and the daughter and her husband Captain (retd) Safdar Awan, who was already in the Adiala Jail, to the Sihala Rest House situated inside the Sihala Police Training College.

Authorities later said that the rest house was not safe for the Sharif family, according to Dawn News. It has six rooms, all with air conditioners, proper beds and wash rooms, but no boundary wall. One official said that it was twice or thrice attempted to shift Maryam Nawaz to the rest house but she firmly refused.

A major indication that the Sharifs might not be shifted to the rest house was that the authorities were considering shifting some dangerous prisoners to somewhere else in the province to ensure proper security for the three-time Premier and his daughter, the report quoted an Adiala Jail official as saying.

Later in the day, the duo and Safdar Awan met their counsels. The legal team comprised of Sharif's counsel Khawaja Haris and his daughter's lawyer Amjad Pervaiz.

According to sources cited by Geo News, key legal matters were discussed during the meeting.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Advocate Pervaiz said: "The former Premier feels he was not granted the facilities that he should have been given."

Speaking about Safdar Awan, Maryam Nawaz's counsel said: "He is a heart patient... but he does not want to seek any medical facilities beyond those offered in the jail manual."

On Thursday, a pre-arranged meeting between the lawyers and the father-daughter duo was cancelled by authorities at Adiala Jail.

--IANS

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