Travel restriction: SHC grants attorney general more time to respond to Musharraf's plea

Court postpones hearing till May 7 after attorney general told the bench he received court notice late.

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of former president Pervez Musharraf’s plea seeking removal of his name from the Exit Control List (ECL) till May 7 after the attorney general of Pakistan sought more time to respond, Express News reported.

Musharraf, who is currently in Karachi for medical treatment, had moved the court against the interior ministry's rejection of his request to remove his name from the ECL.

The attorney general today informed the bench, comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Shahnawaz Tariq, that he had received the court notice late and could not compile appropriate response.

He requested the court to grant him 10 to 15 days time to submit government’s reply.

The bench, on the attorney general’s request, adjourned the hearing till May 7.

The name of the former president was put on ECL on April 5, 2013 by the interior ministry to ensure Musharraf remained in the country and attended hearings of all the cases he was involved in.

On March 31, Musharraf was formally charged for subverting and circumventing the Constitution by imposing emergency on November 3, 2007. Musharraf had rejected the charges levelled against him.

Apart from the high treason case, Musharraf was also named as an accused in the Benazir Bhutto and Akbar Bugti murder cases.