Rejecting the plea of the federal government a division bench of the Lahore High Court on Friday admitted the petition of Shahbaz Sharif for regular hearing. The petition seeks the removal of name of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from the Exit Control List (ECL). The court observed that it has the jurisdiction to hear this matter before it rose till Saturday (today). Earlier, the petitioner's counsel contended that a medical board formed by the Punjab government recommended treatment abroad for the petitioner in light of his health condition. He said the government's condition was against the petitioner's fundamental right of free movement enshrined in Article 15 of the Constitution. He also presented the copies of court orders in similar cases, stating that the LHC has authority to hear this petition.
"There are many court verdicts that vindicate our stance," he said, and cited the example of removal of former president Pervez Musharraf's name from ECL with a view to substantiating his argument.
Justice Ali Baqir Najfi pointed out that Musharraf had not been convicted when his name was taken off the ECL. Justice Ali Baqir however observed that NAB has left the entire matter to the government.
The counsel also mentioned the name of super model Ayan Ali, and said she was jailed in connection with a money laundering case but was also allowed to leave the country without any condition.
The counsel argued that the condition of furnishing Rs7 billion to exclude the name of Nawaz Sharif from the ECL was not based on any provision of law. He said the government's condition had no legal standing since the petitioner had been granted bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case by the Lahore High Court and his sentence in the Al-Azizia reference suspended by the Islamabad High Court.
The counsel said the courts were there to take action if the petitioner violated their orders of bail and suspension. According to him, the government has no role in the whole matter. He also said the LHC could hear the petition since the NAB was a federal institution.
The law officer however argued that this court lacks jurisdiction as the conditions mentioned in the impugned memorandum are based upon the judgment pronounced by the Accountability Court, Islamabad and challenged before the Islamabad High Court. He said the name of Nawaz Sharif was added to the ECL on the recommendations of National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
However, he said the government allowed the former prime minister to travel abroad for four weeks. It may be mentioned that the federal government has given a one-time permission to Nawaz Sharif for his medical treatment with a condition to pay Rs7 billion surety bond if he wants to travel abroad for medical treatment.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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