As deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz have departed for London, the cabinet committee is yet to consider whether to place their names on the Exit Control List (ECL).
On Wednesday the ministry of interior sent a letter to a three-member cabinet committee pertaining to placing the names of Sharif family on the no-fly list.
The committee comprises interim ministers Ali Zafar (law), Azam Khan (interior) and Shamshad Akhtar (finance).
However, it has been learnt through well-placed sources that the committee would most likely decide on this issue after Eid al-Fitr vacation.
Sharif and his daughter Maryam left for London from Lahore airport to visit ailing Kulsoom Nawaz, who is being treated in London.
Sharif is expected to return to Pakistan after the Eid as the National Accountability Court has exempted him for the hearing.
On June 11, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) recommended that the interior ministry add the names of Sharif family members, including Captain (retired) Muhammad Safdar, on the ECL due to ongoing investigation in Avenfield properties case.
In the letter, the accountability watchdog had stated that the matter of placing the names of accused persons on the list needs to be reconsidered and placed before the sub-committee of the cabinet.
“This matter is raised again in view of the fact that references against the subject accused persons are at the final stages of trial. There are concerns that they may leave the country to avoid legal outcome of the judgments, which are expected to be announced shortly,” the letter adds.
Earlier in February, the interior ministry had rejected the NAB’s recommendations that Sharif and his children be placed on the list.
Responding to the NAB’s letter, the ministry had asked for valid evidence against the Sharif family to justify the inclusion of their names on the no-fly list.
On March 16, while speaking in the National Assembly, former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had sought an explanation from the government over its decision to ignore the anti-corruption watchdogs’ recommendations regarding placing Sharif on the ECL.
Nisar was of the view when he was the interior minister that the NAB’s recommendations in this reference should be taken very seriously.
Nawaz Sharif: in London now
