PUNJAB Cabinet has decided not to give further extension in the bail granted to former Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on medical grounds. MNS is in London for medical reasons and according to Provincial Law Minister Muhammad Basharat Raja after passage of 16 weeks, the Punjab government wanted to be informed about developments regarding Nawaz’s health on the basis of which a decision regarding his bail was to be made.
In a related development, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan said Nawaz Sharif would be declared absconder if he failed to return to the country. The decision of the Punjab Government in Nawaz extension case is reflective of the overall thinking of PTI Government, which allowed him to go abroad for medical treatment only after a verdict of the court in this regard and has declined a request by Maryam Nawaz for removal of her name from the Exit Control List (ECL) so that she could go to London to look after her ailing father. The Government claims that authentic medical certificates and documents as required to take a decision about extension are not being provided despite repeated demands. It seems the issue would once again be taken up by the judiciary, which will make a decision on the basis of reports of the medical authorities under whose supervision Nawaz is being treated in London.
