The federal government and other parties have been notified by the Lahore High Court to submit a reply by May 26 on a petition against not allowing Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shehbaz Sharif to travel abroad despite the court’s earlier orders.
The petition was heard on Wednesday by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, while the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly was represented by Advocate Amjad Pervez and Azam Nazeer Tarar.
On May 8, Shehbaz, who is also the leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, was to board a flight to Qatar when he was stopped by immigration officials at the Lahore airport.
He was told his name was still on a no-fly list titled, the Provisional National Identification List. On Monday, the government also added his name to the Exit Control List, after it was removed by court order in 2019.
In his petition, Shehbaz states that the LHC order which allowed him to leave the country one-time was announced on May 7 in front of the deputy attorney general and two Federal Investigation Agency officials.
The above order had become a matter of public knowledge, he argued, as various representatives and federal ministers had discussed its contents on social media and during talk shows.
“Is this petition admissible after Shahbaz Sharif’s name was added to the Exit Control List?” the court asked at the outset of the hearing on Wednesday.
The court asked if the petition is admissible after the interim order of the LHC was challenged in the Supreme Court.
Justice Najafi asked how can the interim order be implemented after Shehbaz’s name appeared in ECL.
Lawyer Tarar suggested the court summon a reply from the government to provide clarity.
The court ordered the government’s lawyer to check and tell the court whether Shehbaz’s name is on the no-fly list or not.
The deputy attorney-general said Shehbaz is the leader of the Opposition and the president of a major political party.
Whenever anyone comes to this court, they come as a petitioner, Justice Najafi responded.
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The deputy attorney-general said court orders had been implemented. He said Shehbaz had not submitted his court order to any concerned authorities.
“Shehbaz Sharif went straight to the airport and gave a court order to the staff,” he said, adding that it was Shehbaz’s responsibility to submit the court order to the relevant authorities.
