LAHORE – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shehbaz Sharif on Monday moved the Lahore High Court (LHC) seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official for barring him from going abroad despite court orders.
On May 7, the high court granted permission to leader of Opposition in National Assembly to go abroad on medical grounds.
A bench of the high court issued the verdict on a petition filed by Sharif seeking removal of his name from no-fly list.
However, the FIA’s immigration staff on May 8 barred him from going to London as his name was still on Provisional National Identification List (PNIL) despite the LHC orders.
On Monday, the government has also placed his name to the Exit Control List (ECL), after it was removed by in 2019 following a court order.
In his petition, Sharif recalled that the one-time permission was granted to him by the court in in front of the deputy attorney general and two officials of the FIA.
He argued that the court ruling was a matter of public knowledge as various officials also discussed the matter on social media and various TV shows.
The petitioner added that the “excuse for not permitting the complainant to proceed abroad was lame and false because a comprehensive mechanism of updating the Integrated Border Management System and placing or removal of names in the stop-lists 24/7 round the clock, is in vogue.”
The petitioner’s counsel further said that a contempt petition is being filed against the officials for defying the court orders.
He argued that the LHC ‘s May 7 order must be implemented immediately “in the interest of justice.”
Read more: https://pakobserver.net/cabinet-committee-suggests-placing-shehbaz-sharifs-name-on-ecl/
