'LHC handed ruling on Nawaz's ECL plea on interim basis'

ISLAMABAD: Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan on Saturday termed the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) decision of allowing former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to travel abroad for medical treatment an interim verdict which, he said, would be followed by a final ruling.

“The court handed down the verdict on an interim basis,” he said in a statement, adding the case has been fixed for hearing in January when the court will decide whether or not a prisoner can be allowed to go abroad in such a manner.

Mr. Khan said the government would defend the federal cabinet’s decision with regard to the former premier’s plea for removal of his name from the Exit Control List (ECL).

Earlier this evening, the Lahore High Court let former premier Nawaz Sharif fly abroad for four weeks without furnishing an indemnity bond as demanded by the federal government.

The two-member bench, headed by Justice Ali Baqir Najafi, ordered the federal government to remove the name of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader from the ECL without setting any conditions.

The bench, which was hearing the plea filed by PML-N seeking unconditional removal of Nawaz Sharif’s name from ECL, also maintained that the former prime minister can extend his stay if his health required so.