Govt will not allow Maryam Nawaz to travel abroad: PM's aide

Babar Awan says cabinet sub-committee has decided against allowing a convict to leave Pakistan


​ Our Correspondent December 23, 2019
Maryam Nawaz. PHOTO: AFP

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government opposes any move to allow Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz to travel abroad, an aide to Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Monday.

Speaking to reporters in the federal capital, PTI leader Dr Babar Awan said Maryam's application for removal of her name from the Exit Control List (ECL) had been rejected by the federal cabinet's sub-committee that deals with such cases.

"The sub-committee has decided against allowing a convict to leave Pakistan. There is no such provision in the law. If anyone wants this condition included then the matter will have to be taken up in parliament," said Dr Awan.

The cabinet sub-committee was directed by the Lahore High Court to review Maryam’s plea seeking the return of her passport and one-time permission to fly to London for six weeks to see her ailing father, ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

LHC to hear Maryam Nawaz's petition for removal of name from ECL today

The PML-N vice president was arrested in August by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in connection with an investigation pertaining to the Chaudhry Sugar Mills.

She was granted post-arrest bail by an LHC bench against two surety bonds worth Rs20 million and deposit of an additional Rs70 million. She was also ordered to surrender her passport to secure release.

Maryam had moved the LHC days after her father travelled to London for treatment accompanied by his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif.

The Sharifs left Pakistan on November 20, four days after the LHC directed the federal government to remove Nawaz's name from the ECL for four weeks.

Prior to that, Nawaz, who is serving a seven-year prison sentence in the Al Azizia corruption reference, was granted eight-week bail on medical grounds by the Islamabad High Court on October 27.

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