Govt reply sought as Nawaz knocks on LHC's door for removal of name from ECL

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) Thursday directed the federal government to furnish its response on a petition moved by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif seeking removal of his name from the no-fly list, ARY News reported.

A LHC bench, headed by Justice Ali Baqir Najafi, instructed the government to come up with its reply by 10am tomorrow (Friday) when it is scheduled to resume hearing of the petition.

A state lawyer requested the bench to dismiss the petition for being “non-maintainable”.

He contended before the judges that the former prime minister should approach the Islamabad High Court (IHC) instead to have his name removed from the Exit Control List (ECL) since the federal government had placed his name on it and this court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the plea.

Amjad Pervez, who represented Sharif,  stated that the two higher courts have already granted his client bail.

He contended that the government’s condition for the former prime minister to submit a surety bond to secure the removal of his name from the no-fly list is unconstitutional. He said Sharif is seriously ill, due to which he needed to fly abroad for a diagnosis of the actual disease he was suffering from.

The counsel pleaded with the bench to order the federal authorities to remove his name from the ECL.

Earlier, on Nov 13, the federal cabinet’s subcommittee allowed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to travel abroad for medical treatment for four weeks, but after submitting surety bonds.

Federal Minister for Law Farogh Naseem, while addressing a press conference in Islamabad announced that PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif, who had appealed for permission, will have to submit an indemnity bond to the tune of around 7 billion rupees to avail the concession.