Govt issues ‘ordinary’ passport to Nawaz

ISLAMABAD:

The interior ministry has issued a passport to PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif, which means that he can travel to any country in the world.

According to details, the travel document was issued in the federal capital on April 23. The nature of the passport is “ordinary” and it was issued in the “urgent” category.

The development came at a time when the Lahore High Court (LHC) had fixed a plea seeking to strike off the PML-N leader’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL) for hearing.

The petition had been filed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif following which the LHC in an interim order had ordered removal of Nawaz’s name from the ECL.

The PML-N supremo’s new passport is valid for 10 years — till April 2032 and entitles “active” status.

Last week, newly sworn in Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah said that a diplomatic passport was former premier’s right and would be issued to him.

After being sworn into PM Shehbaz’s new federal cabinet, Sana regretted that “it is unfortunate that a person who has been prime minister three times is being deprived of national citizenship”.

Also read: Diplomatic passport is Nawaz Sharif's right, will be issued: Sanaullah

A day earlier, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had declared a petition challenging the issuance of a diplomatic passport to Nawaz as inadmissible and imposed a fine of Rs5,000 on the petitioner.

The petitioner contended that Nawaz should not be issued a passport on the grounds that he was an "absconding convict”. “Therefore, authorities should be barred from issuing a diplomatic passport to him.”

Earlier this month, PML-N leader Mian Javed Latif had claimed that Nawaz was expected to head back to the country after Eid.

The PML-N leader said the decision pertaining to the former PM’s anticipated return would be discussed with the coalition partners, adding that all decisions would be first brought up with coalition partners.

However, Nawaz’s spokesperson Muhammad Zubair refrained from making explicit remarks regarding the PML-N supremo’s return, saying: “This is a sensitive subject and cannot be broached at this stage.”

Former PM Imran Khan’s government had refused to renew Nawaz's passport after it expired in February last year but then-interior minister Sheikh Rashid had said the PML-N quaid could be issued special documents if he wanted to return.

The former PM was granted eight-week bail on medical grounds in October 2019, and a month later, he was allowed to travel abroad for treatment for four weeks. He is in London to date.