LAHORE, Pakistan: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday allowed the ailing former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to fly abroad for medical treatment, and directed the government to remove his name from the Exit Control List (ECL) brushing aside its reservations over the grant of permission without any guarantee.
The two-member bench of the LHC headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najfi and Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem issued the directives on a plea filed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif seeking unconditional removal of the PML-N Quaid’s name from the ECL, and declaring the condition for indemnity bond as illegal.
Under the ruling, Nawaz Sharif was permitted to travel abroad for four weeks to receive medical treatment, and the tenure of his foreign stay could be extended if needed.
نوازشریف کا نام ای سی ایل سےغیر مشروط نکالنےکامعاملہ
لاہور ہائیکورٹ نے نوازشریف کی درخواست پر فیصلہ سنادیا
لاہور ہائیکورٹ کا 4 ہفتے کیلئے نوازشریف کا نام ای سی ایل سے نکالنے کا حکم
جسٹس علی باقر نجفی کی سربراہی میں دو رکنی بینچ نے درخواست پر سماعت کی pic.twitter.com/pH8UyONrQ5— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) November 16, 2019
Earlier the Court directed Shahbaz Sharif to submit a written undertaking, assuring the Court that the former would return to Pakistan once his health improves, which he complied.
However, the Additional Attorney General Chaudhry Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan representing the government in the Case rejected the undertaking, saying that it didn’t contain any guarantee.
Eventually, the Court itself proposed an undertaking for both the parties, which was accepted by PML-N but the additional attorney general raised objections over it as it didn’t mention the timeframe and seek any guarantee from Nawaz Sharif regarding his return.
The LHC turned down the objections raised by the government, and allowed the former prime minister to proceed abroad.
It’s worth noting that the federal government had asked the former prime minister to furnish an indemnity bond worth Rs 7 billion as a guarantee if he wanted to travel abroad for four weeks on a one-time permission.
However, Nawaz Sharif didn’t concede the condition while Shahbaz Sharif through his Counsel Amjad Pervez filed the petition in the LHC for unconditional removal of his brother’s name from the ECL.
