A division bench of the Lahore High Court headed by Justice Muhammad Tariq Abbasi will proceed with a petition of Maryam Nawaz for removal of her name from Exit Control List (ECL) and a one-time permission to travel abroad on January 15.

Before the winter vacations, a bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi had sought a reply from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on the petition. In its reply, the NAB had opposed the petition and return of passport to Maryam Nawaz, which she had surrendered to the court when post-arrest bail was granted to her in Chaudhry Sugar Mills case. The bureau argued that an appeal by Maryam Nawaz against her sentence in a reference was fixed before the Islamabad High Court after the vacations for which personal appearance of the appellant was necessary. It said brothers of Ms Nawaz and other family members were already in London to look after her father Nawaz Sharif.