LHC allows Nawaz Sharif to travel abroad

Lahore high court orders to remove former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ’s name from Exit control list, and allow him to travel abroad.

Former Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif has submitted a written affidavit guaranteeing the return of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The Lahore High Court on Saturday asked for a written affidavit from the Sharif family guaranteeing that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan after receiving treatment.

The court, after resuming the hearing following a short recess, sought the written assurances from Nawaz Sharif and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif.

Earlier, Lahore High Court has resumed a petition filed by former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, challenging the government’s condition of furnishing indemnity bonds in order to secure the removal of ailing former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL).

During Friday’s hearing, the LHC dismissed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the federal government’s stance challenging the maintainability of the plea and called it admissible.

The two-member bench headed by Justice Ali Baqir Najafi and comprising Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem resumed the hearing of the case, where the federal government and NAB submitted their replies to the two-member bench.

In its written verdict, the LHC said that the federal government’s objection regarding the court’s jurisdiction was not right, adding that the case fell under its jurisdiction.

During yesterday’s hearing, the federal government urged the court to maintain its condition of seeking a security bond from the former prime minister.

Appearing on behalf of the federal government, Additional Attorney General Ishtiaq Khan had objected to the maintainability of the petition and requested that the petition be dismissed for being “non-maintainable”.

He contended that Nawaz should approach the Islamabad High Court instead of the removal of his name from the ECL, as the federal government had placed his name on the list and the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the plea.

The government in its 45-page reply opposed the removal of Nawaz’s name from ECL without a security bond.

It argued that the PML-N leader was convicted which is why he should not be allowed to leave the country without submitting a security bond.

The accountability watchdog also submitted its four-page reply to the court.

While Nawaz’s counsel Amjad Pervez stated that the LHC could hear the petition as the NAB was a federal institution. The counsel argued that the condition of furnishing Rs7.5 billion surety bonds was not based on any provision of law.

After hearing the arguments, the high court reserved its judgment on the maintainability of PML-N’s petition. It later released its three-page order