Govt rejects Maryam’s plea, restricts her to meet ailing father

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has denied any move to allow Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice-President Maryam Nawaz to travel abroad, an aide to Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Tuesday.

Maryam, the 46-year-old daughter of Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was placed on the no-fly list in August 2018.

According to Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, the interior ministry brought a total of 24 cases before the cabinet in which no “VIP’s name” was highlighted.

Out of the total 24, the government decided to add four names to the Exit Control List (ECL), remove eight names, while the decision on eight cases was deferred and the request to remove one name was rejected, she added.

Answering a question, the government spokesperson said, the cabinet had decided to remove the name of Nawaz Sharif, Maryam’s father and former prime minister, from the ECL after clear instructions were given by the high court.

PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz filed a second plea in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday, seeking one-time permission to travel abroad for six weeks, from the date of departure, to meet her ailing father former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who is currently undergoing medical treatment in London.

Following her first request, the high court had, on December 9, disposed of the petition and directed the federal government’s review committee to decide on the matter within seven days.

However, when the government did not act upon the high court order, Maryam, who is also the daughter of former premier Nawaz Sharif, lodged another petition on December 21, seeking removal from the ECL so she could travel abroad to meet her ailing father.

Bad News for Maryam Nawaz

It merits a mention here that earlier on Sunday, PTI leader Babar Awan announced that the subcommittee of the federal cabinet that deals with Exit Control List (ECL) cases had rejected Maryam’s plea.

“The subcommittee is part of the cabinet and a formal announcement to bar Maryam from travelling abroad will be made by the federal cabinet in its meeting,” Babar Awan also said.