Govt always respected court rulings: Dr Firdous

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan on Saturday said that the government believed in upholding rule of law and added that they always respected the court verdicts, ARY News reported.

Addressing a press conference along with Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan in Islamabad, Dr Firdous said that the government was waiting for the detailed verdict of Lahore High Court on ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s ECL plea. She said that the government will set its priorities according to the law and the constitution.

The special assistant said that the health of Nawaz Sharif was a humanitarian matter and it should not be made political and legal issue. She said that a legal and constitutional issue was used for political gains.

Dr Firdous said that the government never did politics on the health of Nawaz Sharif and added that they facilitated him at every level.

Speaking on the occasion, Attorney General Anwar Mansoor said, “NAB law clearly states that sentence of a convict could not be suspended or bailed.”

He said that Nawaz Sharif had been violating undertakings which he made in the past and added that the government had asked him to submit indemnity bond for flying abroad.  The attorney general said,  “The court has not rejected the government’s position on indemnity bond.”

Read More: Court allows Nawaz Sharif to go abroad for four weeks

Earlier in the day, the Lahore High Court had allowed former premier Nawaz Sharif to go abroad for four weeks without submitting any indemnity bond as proposed by the federal government.

The two-member bench headed by Justice Ali Baqir Najafi had ordered the federal government to remove the former premier and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL) without placing any conditions.

The bench, which was hearing the plea filed by PML-N seeking unconditional removal of Nawaz Sharif’s name from ECL, had also maintained that the duration of his visit could be extended if his health required.