Inside the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case that first sent Maryam Nawaz behind bars

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has decided to close the Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case against Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. While the closure still awaits legal formalities and the Lahore High Court has instructed NAB to approach the trial court for formal dismissal, the development marks the likely end to a case that has been fought for over seven years. At the heart of it all lies one of the largest sugar mills owned by the extended Sharif family—Chaudhry Sugar Mills. 

The Sharifs have long had deep ties to the sugar industry, and the mills have been a significant part of their empire. CSM was also one of the five mills the Sharifs sought to relocate to South Punjab when the sugar fields of central Punjab became uncompetitive and harder to grow. It was this case that led to Maryam Nawaz’s dramatic arrest in August 2019 when she was visiting her father at Kot Lakhpat jail.

The saga surrounding the Chaudhry Sugar Mills is more than just a money laundering investigation—it is a window into the intersection of business and politics in Pakistan. The sugar industry, after all, is arguably the most politically influential sector in the country. It’s an industry that has long been intertwined with the political elite, where the names of prominent politicians and businessmen are often found together in boardrooms. From the Sharifs to the Chaudhries of Gujrat and senior PPP leaders, sugar has long been the business of choice for the political elite. 

So, how did a case centered around alleged money laundering and income beyond means morph into a political battlefield? And what does the closure of the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case really mean for the Sharif family, the industry, and Pakistan’s political elite?