The Punjab Cabinet, which met here on Tuesday with Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar in the chair, has decided not to extend the bail of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif who is currently in London for medical treatment. Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat accompanied by provincial Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid and Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan told media at a news conference here on Tuesday.
Raja Basharat said: "The committee has decided that Nawaz Sharif's bail can't be extended further." After the passage of 16 weeks, Raja Basharat said the provincial government wanted to be informed about developments regarding Nawaz's health on the basis of which a decision to extend his bail could be made. He added that the extension in bail period cannot be granted on medical and legal grounds while the recommendation of the Punjab cabinet will be forwarded to the federal cabinet.
Raja Basharat stated that Nawaz Sharif has not been admitted to any hospital so far for proper medical treatment. He said medical board held several meetings and examined the medical reports of Nawaz Sharif which were provided before his departure.
To a query, he said after rejection of extension, the bail granted to the former prime minister will ultimately be cancelled. He said the Punjab cabinet had decided that there was "no legal, moral or medical basis without any concrete proof" for further extension of Nawaz's bail.
Minister for Health Dr Yasmeen Rashid said on the occasion that the issue of the extension in the bail of Nawaz Sharif will be decided by the court. She said that Nawaz Sharif has failed to produce any medical report to justify his request for extension in bail. Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan said that the decision of extension in the bail of Nawaz Sharif cannot be made on his desire.
Earlier, the Punjab Cabinet unanimously rejected the application submitted by Nawaz Sharif for granting extension in a suspended sentence in the light of all aspects, ground realities and medical reports.
The Punjab Cabinet was briefed that required medical reports of Nawaz Sharif were not provided despite repeated reminders of the medical board and the special committee, comprising of provincial ministers Raja Basharat and Dr Yasmeen Rashid. This committee was constituted on the direction of Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on February 11. This committee held its meetings on 19th, 20th and 21st February and PML-N leader Attaullah Tarrar personally attended the meeting on February 21 while Dr Adnan participated through Skype.
The representatives of Nawaz Sharif, instead of submitting new verified medical reports, stressed that old medical reports should be treated as final. The report of the special committee was presented before Punjab cabinet meeting which unanimously decided to reject Nawaz Sharif's application for granting extension in a suspended sentence.
Following the Punjab government's announcement, PML-N senior leader Rana Sanaullah said they will challenge the decision in the high court following discussions. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif in his reaction said that all the medical reports of Nawaz Sharif were submitted as per decided procedure. Terming the decision of Punjab Cabinet of not extending Nawaz Sharif's bail as political revenge, Shahbaz said they had approached the court as they had idea about the aims of incumbent government.
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