Cabinet to decide on removing Nawaz’s name from no-fly list

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet will decide on removing the name of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from no-fly list after receiving recommendations from a sub-committee of the cabinet which is set to take up the matter on Tuesday (today).

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo was expected to leave for London on Sunday but due to his condition and delay in removal of his name from the Exit Control List (ECL) he could not depart.

The sub-committee’s meeting, presided over by Federal Law Minister Dr Farogh Naseem, would discuss an application filed by PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif seeking removal of party supremo’s name from the ECL on humanitarian grounds. Secretaries home and law, and other officials concerned would also attend the meeting.

The sub-committee has issued notices to relevant parties, including the secretary health Punjab and the medical board. The notice mentioned the complainant, Shahbaz Sharif, or his representative, should appear before the committee on Tuesday. In response, PML-N Spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said Attaullah Tarrar and Dr Adnan would appear before the committee. In its response to the interior ministry earlier on Monday, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) said there was neither a clear objection nor an approval for removing Sharif’s name from the ECL. The anti-corruption watchdog said the federal government was authorised to remove names of people from the ECL, sources told Geo News.

The federal cabinet will now finally decide on the issue of removing Sharif’s name from the ECL after the interior ministry decided to send the matter to the cabinet.Aurangzeb said in a statement on Monday the party supremo’s departure to London was further delayed, as his name was still on no-fly list.

According to her, Sharif was administered a high dose of steroids to improve his platelet count and enable him for air travel. She said doctors were worried as Sharif’s condition was not stable and he could not be given steroids multiple times.

The government has allowed the PML-N leader to seek medical treatment from a place of his choosing but the authorities concerned are still waiting for the directions to remove his name from the ECL. The Sharif family has already made all the arrangements at a London hospital for the treatment of the former prime minister.

Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid told reporters in Lahore earlier in the day the interior ministry had sought details from the medical board regarding Sharif’s treatment abroad.

Rashid explained a 10-member medical board that was examining Sharif during his stay at Services Hospital, met the previous 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 Sharif was a high-risk patient?” Rashid added. The board’s reply, she said, would then be forwarded to the interior ministry.

The minister disclosed 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.