Nawaz Sharif on ECL: Farogh Naseem chairs subcommittee meeting

ISLAMABAD: Law Minister Farogh Naseem is presiding over a meeting of the cabinet subcommittee that has been tasked by the Prime Minister Imran Khan to decide the case of Nawaz Sharif regarding the Exit Control List (ECL).

Sources said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Atta Tarar was representing his party in the meeting. “No one invited me, I have come here to get an update,” he was quoted by the sources as saying.

Earlier it was reported that the committee has finalised the recommendations and is due to send its report to Prime Minister Imran Khan today.

On Tuesday, the Federal Cabinet agreed to grant permission to the PML-N supremo for his treatment abroad on condition of surety deposit.

The PML-N, after deliberations, refused to accept the government’s demand, saying they had already met all the requirements set by the court for Nawaz Sharif’s bail and termed the condition unconstitutional.

The ailing former prime minister’s name was placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) last August to prevent him from leaving Pakistan, after he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for corruption. The conviction was later suspended by a high court, yet Sharif’s name remained on the no-fly list.

Last month, the Islamabad High Court granted bail to Nawaz on humanitarian grounds, as his health deteriorated. Soon after, on November 6, Sharif’s younger brother submitted an application to the ministry of interior to have the ex-premier’s name removed from the ECL.

The government-appointed medical board and Sharif’s doctors agree that the former prime minister needs to undergo tests that are not available in Pakistan.

The final decision of whether or not Sharif will be allowed to leave the country now rests with the federal cabinet.