Daily Times

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday asked the government to make a final decision about removing the name of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz from the Exit Control List (ECL) within the next seven days.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi has given the federal government seven days to decide on the matter.

On a miscellaneous petition seeking the temporary release of her passport for one-time permission to travel abroad for six-weeks, the bench summoned the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on December 16.

In her petition, Maryam said that she wants to go abroad for six weeks. She argued that her name was placed on the ECL without notice. She requested the court to allow her to travel to London to care for her father Nawaz Sharif who is dependent on her since her mother’s demise.

The PML-N leader’s name was placed on the no-fly list by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led federal cabinet on National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) request on August 20, 2018.

“The memorandum issued on August 20, 2018, was illegal. I have been regularly appearing in the courts and therefore, I should be granted permission to travel abroad till a final verdict on the petition,” Maryam argued in her petition.

She also submitted that Maryam returned from the British capital where she was looking after her ailing mother Kulsoom Nawaz, to face trial in the corruption references. She further said that both Maryam and her father Nawaz Sharif volunteered to come back to surrender even after a judgment of conviction announced in their absence.

The petitioner said that her name on ECL was politically motivated and also questioned the NAB for suggesting her name to be placed on ECL. She asked the court to direct the government for removal of her name from the ECL so that she could fly to London for care of her ailing father Nawaz Sharif.