LHC reissues notice on petition seeking to place Shahbaz, Rana on ECL

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday gave the interior ministry two weeks to respond to a petition seeking to place the names of Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and former Inspector General Mushtaq Sukhera on the Exit Control List.

Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) through its counsel Ishtiaq Chaudhry had filed the petition, requesting the high court to put the names of Shehbaz, Rana and former IGP on the ECL.

An LHC bench repeated notice after no one appeared on behalf of the Ministry of Interior and directed it to respond within two weeks.

At the initial hearing, petitioner had submitted that the high court has ordered the Model Town incident inquiry report by Justice Mazahir Ali Baqir Najafi to be made public.

This has raised optimism that the incident which occurred in 2014 causing the death of fourteen people and injuries to around one hundred will reach its logical conclusion and the justice will be served, he added.

The counsel argued that the three were responsible for the incident and were likely to flee the country if the trial in the case started. Therefore, he pleaded with the court to bar them from going abroad until the conclusion of a trial in the case.