Court gives govt 7 days to decide on Maryam leaving Pak
LAHORE: A Pakistani court on Monday directed the government to decide in seven days about removing the name Maryam Nawaz from s no-fly list so she can visit her ailing father, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, in London.
The Lahore High Court’s ruling came amid media reports that Sharif is likely to be flown to US for better treatment.
Maryam was placed on the no-fly list in August 2018 in a corruption case. She sought a onetime permission to travel abroad for six weeks from the date of departure. Another petition has been filed seeking release of her passport which is currently confiscated by the High Court.
Before obtaining bail last month, she had been in custody following an investigation into the Chaudhry Sugar Mills corruption case. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested Maryam on August 8.
The Lahore High Court on Monday sent Maryam’s plea seeking the removal of her name from the Exit Control List to a review committee of the Ministry of Interior, the Express Tribune reported.
A two-member bench of the High Court, headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, presided over the hearing.
In her petition, Maryam stated that she wished to go abroad for six weeks, expressing concern over the deteriorating health of her father, who is currently in London for medical treatment, the report said.
Sharif, 69, left for London from Pakistan on November 19 in an air ambulance for medical treatment after the Lahore High Court allowed him to travel abroad for four weeks.
The four-week duration can be extended further on his doctors’ recommendations.
According to PML-N spokesperson, Sharif is now set to be taken to the US for further treatment.
The three-time prime minister and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) PML-N supremo is suffering from multiple health ailments, including an immune system disorder causing low platelet count.