A sub-committee of the federal cabinet has decided to place Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL).
Sharing the details in a presser, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said that the sub-committee meeting has decided to put Shehbaz’s name on the no-fly list on the recommendation from National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
“A recommendation has been conveyed to the cabinet that will make a final decision in this regard,” the interior minister said.
He said that Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Accountability Shahzad Akbar informed him that Shehbaz’s name was not placed on the blacklist. “Shehbaz is a guarantor of Nawaz Sharif, who has fled the country,” Rasheed said, adding that they have not received any application from PML-N leader to allow him to travel abroad.
The interior minister said that Shehbaz could file a review petition within 15 days and appear before the committee to convey his argument on the matter.
“We are not informed regarding any medical reasons cited by Shehbaz Sharif to travel abroad,” he said adding that if the PML-N president files a review on the decision, the interior ministry is bound to take a decision on it within 90 days.
It is pertinent to mention here that Shehbaz was offloaded from a Qatar-bound flight at Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore on May 8, a day after the Lahore High Court granted one-time permission to him to travel abroad for medical treatment.
On the other hand, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said that putting Shehbaz’s name on ECL would not reduce Pakistan’s debt. Will opening the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case hide the incompetence of the government, she asked.
She added that Pakistan’s debt had crossed Rs 36,000 billion in February.
Shehbaz has said that the government’s policy of backtracking the next day could prove to be costly and there is a common denominator in governance as well.
He said that the government’s foreign policy also has a way of backtracking from what is said today. The price of this never-ending policy of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) can be heavy, he added.
Contempt of Court?