ISLAMABAD: The issue of removing former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s name from the Exit Control List will be taken up by the sub-committee of the federal Cabinet on Tuesday. The session will be chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The sub-committee on ECL has issued notices to the relevant parties, including Secretary Health Punjab and the medical board.
The notice mentioned that the complainant, Shehbaz Sharif or his representative, should appear before the committee tomorrow.
In response, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said that Shehbaz Sharif’s representative Attaullah Tarrar and Dr Adnan will present before the committee.
The former state minister expressed hope that the issue of lifting the travel ban on Nawaz Sharif will be resolved soon at the government level.
Earlier, the Interior Ministry decided to send the matter to the federal cabinet, however according to the rules, the issue should have been sent to a sub-committee first.
In its official response to the Interior Ministry on Monday, the National Accountability Bureau said that the federal government is authorised to remove names of people from the Exit Control List, said sources.
The details of the NAB's response emerged amid the ongoing dilemma about taking former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's name off the ECL. The ailing former prime minister was expected to leave the country on Sunday, but his departure was delayed because his name could not be taken off the ECL.
In its response, the NAB stated that there is neither a clear objection nor an approval for removing the name of the former prime minister off the ECL.
Sources said that the interior ministry had also sent Nawaz Sharif’s medical reports to the NAB, although now the ball is in the ministry’s court again.
Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar on Monday said that PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif's name would be removed from the Exit Control List (ECL) today.
"Everybody is worried about Mian Nawaz Sharif's health but the issue should not be politicised," the governor said during a chat with media personnel at Alhamra Hall in Lahore.
Read also: Nawaz's departure for London delayed
Sarwar said that the government had constituted a medical board since it was not willing to to take any risks on Sharif's health.
He further said that the former prime minister would be free to go anywhere for treatment after his name is taken off the ECL.
The ailing former prime minister was expected to leave the country on Sunday but his departure was delayed because his name could not be taken off the ECL.
The former prime minister was granted bail by the Islamabad High Court on humanitarian grounds days after he was hospitalised in critical condition last month.
Ministry seeks details on Nawaz's treatment plan
The ministry of interior has sought details from the medical board regarding former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s treatment abroad, said Punjab’s Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid.
Talking to reporters, Rashid explained that the 10-member medical board that was examining Sharif during his stay at Services Hospital, met last night and recommended that the former prime minister be allowed to travel to a foreign country for tests which were not available in Pakistan.
“We then wrote back to the doctors asking them to elaborate what those tests are that are not available at public hospitals in the country and to explain why Nawaz Sharif was a high-risk patient?” Rashid added. The board’s reply, she said, will then be forwarded to the interior ministry.
The board will hold another meeting today to prepare a detail response, the minister told reporters. “It is our right to seek details from the board that will help the interior ministry understand the matter.”
Rashid also rubbished speculations that the government could pressurize the medical board, which she added was independent. “I have never doubted Nawaz Sharif's illness,” the health minister said, “He has always been treated as a high-profile patient.”
The minister disclosed that Nawaz Sharif's platelet count was 28,000 when he was discharged from Services Hospital last week.
During his stay at the hospital, she explained, he was provided complete medical facilities. Even while he was in the central jail and later in the custody of the anti-graft body, Rashid said that medical teams used to visit him regularly.
The plea to allow Sharif to travel abroad for medical tests was submitted to the interior ministry on November 6.
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