ISLAMABAD: PML-N President and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif cannot fly out of the country as his name has been put on the Exit Control List (ECL).
Addressing a press conference today (Monday), Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed announced that Shehbaz’s name has been placed on the no-fly list after approval of the federal cabinet.
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“The case against Shehbaz Sharif would have suffered delays if he was permitted to fly out of the country,” Rasheed opined. “Five members of the Sharif family have already absconded,” he said.
He said Shehbaz is himself a guarantor of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, Who is in London, and instead of bringing him back to the country, he tried to flee himself.
“Nawaz Sharif didn’t return to the country, how would Shehbaz have flown back?” he asked.
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He said the opposition leader booked a flight to Qatar the day the Lahore High Court granted him one-time permission to fly abroad.
“Shehbaz faces a Rs7 billion asset case. It would be difficult to bring him back if he flees abroad,” the interior minister said. Four people have already turned approvers in the case against Shehbaz, he revealed.
On May 8, the PML-N leader was offloaded from a Qatar-bound flight at Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore. Shehbaz was issued a boarding pass with his luggage scanned but was stopped from boarding the plane due to his name still being on the blacklist, sources relayed.
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