The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday accorded approval to an application filed by Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz for extension of his stay in London to tend to his newborn daughter with cardiac issues. Earlier in the day, the opposition leader filed a request seeking permission to extend his stay for a week as his newborn daughter is to undergo a cardiac procedure in London due to complications at birth. The high court granted an approval to extend the stay of Hamza Shehbaz for the requested period of time. Reports said the baby was moved to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital immediately after her birth owing to her serious condition. She is suffering from a heart complication as doctors have recommended an urgent surgery to save the baby’s life. The baby’s parents had been informed about her condition prior to her birth. The PML-N leader left for London on Feb 3 after the LHC ordered his name to be taken off the exit control list (ECL). The opposition leader is facing a number of corruption inquiries, including alleged accumulation of assets beyond his known sources of income, financial irregularities in Punjab Saaf Pani Company and illegal construction of a bridge at the expense of taxpayers’ money to facilitate the Ramzan Sugar Mills. Published in Daily Times, February 12th 2019.