Medical treatment abroad: Shahbaz moves LHC for removal of name from blacklist

LAHORE: Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif Thursday approached the Lahore High Court (LHC), challenging placement of his name in a blacklist/no fly list, and seeking a one-time permission to go abroad for medical treatment.

In a petition, filed through advocates Azam Nazir Tarar and Amjad Pervez, he contended that the government previously placed him on the Exit Control List (ECL). However, the LHC had suspended the government orders and given him a one-time permission to travel to the United Kingdom for medical checkup in 2019. Shehbaz, who is on bail in multiple references filed by the National Accountability (NAB), stated that he recently came to know that his name had been placed on the blacklist at the behest of the government. He said the authorities concerned refused to furnish documents to him on the basis of which his name had been placed on the list.

The petition argued that the right to travel abroad was encapsulated in freedom of movement, enshrined in Article 15 of the Constitution, which was subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by the law in the public interest. It said the impugned act of the respondents after the removal of the petitioner’s name from the ECL by the court showed their ill intentions. It pleaded that there was no provision in the Passports Act 1974 regarding the notion of blacklist; however, the federal government formulated the Passport and Visa Manual 2006, which explicates the procedure and circumstances in which the name of a person could be blacklisted for passport facilities.

The petition contended that those sitting at the helms of affairs are aware about the severity of the health of the petitioner and had maliciously placed his name in the blacklist. It asked the court to declare the impugned act of the respondents illegal and without lawful authority and permit the petitioner to go abroad for the purpose of his medical treatment. Justice Ali Baqar Najafi would hear the petition on Friday (today).