Govt should allow Nawaz to travel abroad: Sanjrani

ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani on Thursday urged the federal government to immediately send former prime minister Nawaz Sharif abroad as well as provide him maximum facilities for his medical treatment.

The matter related to Sharif’s health reached the Upper House on Thursday as Senator Javed Abbasi from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) raised objections against the federal authorities for delaying the matter of removing Sharif’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL).

Senator Abbasi said Sharif’s health condition was sensitive which was also confirmed by the government’s medical board and he had been granted bail by the courts on medical grounds. He demanded unconditional removal of Sharif’s name from the no-fly-list.

He claimed the federal government was illegally demanding the submission of indemnity bond from Sharif. To this, the Senate chairman called for doing away with the politics over the health condition of former prime minister Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari.

He also called upon the federal government to provide maximum healthcare facilities to Sharif and Zardari. Sanjrani asked the federal government to send Sharif abroad for medical treatment.

During the session, the senators called for taking remedial and corrective measures to reinvigorate economy and provide relief to the people by checking price-hike, particularly of edible items.

Opening the debate on a motion regarding current economic situation, price-hike, rising gas and electricity prices, and dissolution of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), Rehman Malik of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) said: “We are facing 5th generation warfare that is affecting the economy and a few players, including India, are behind it”.

He alleged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had gripped Pakistan’s economy and collective efforts were required to put it on the right track. He apprehended that the economy would further deteriorate if the country remained in the grey-list of the Financial Action Task Force.

PML-N Senator Abbasi said ordinances were being promulgated instead of enacting the legislation. He said the Senate had disapproved the PMDC ordinance, but that body was dissolved through another ordinance.

PPP’s Raza Rabbani blamed the government for double standards, saying former president Pervez Musharraf was allowed to go to Dubai for treatment but former president Zardari was not allowed to get treatment from private hospitals and doctors, while former prime minister Sharif was asked to furnish indemnity bond. He also said instead of enacting laws in the parliament, ordinances were being issued.