SHC orders removal of Musharraf's name from ECL
Order will be enforced in 15 days unless fed govt appeals against it in Supreme Court.
A file photo of former president Pervez Musharraf. PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI:
The Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered the removal of former president Pervez Musharraf's name from the Exit Control List (ECL), Express News reported on Thursday.
However, the two-member bench of the SHC has suspended this order for around two weeks giving the federal government time to appeal against the decision before the Supreme Court.
The order will be enforced in 15 days in case the government fails to make an appeal by then.
Musharraf's lawyer Farogh Naseem said that a memorandum, which placed Musharraf’s name on the ECL, will be struck down after 15 days. He added that "if the federal government does not have a vengeful objective, they can withdraw the memorandum before this period is up."
Speaking to media in Karachi, Naseem said that “right to travel is a fundamental right,” adding that Musharraf does not want to live as a convict.
On May 29, the SHC had reserved its verdict on Musharraf’s petition for striking his name off the ECL.
Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Salman Aslam Butt had said that there is apprehension that once the petitioner is allowed to leave the country, he would never return to face the high-treason trial.
The former president’s lawyer Farogh Nasim had challenged the move, calling it ‘patently presumptuous’.
Appeal rejected
Earlier in the day, a court in Islamabad dismissed Musharraf's appeal for exemption from appearing in the Abdul Rashid Ghazi murder case, Express News reported.
The former president has been ordered to appear before the court on July 1.
Musharraf also faces treason charges for subverting and circumventing the Constitution by imposing emergency on November 3, 2007. The federal government had placed his name on the ECL, stating he might try to abscond.
APML lauds SHC decision
The All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) has welcomed the order of SHC to remove the name of Musharraf from the ECL after 15 days, terming it “a long overdue decision in the interests of justice.”
In a statement following the verdict of the two-member bench of the SHC, Chaudry Sarfraz Anjum Kahlon, political advisor to the former president said, “the decision confirms that there is no legal merit in Nawaz Sharif's politically vindictive objective to deny Musharraf the fundamental right to travel freely, and exposes Nawaz Sharif's actions as unlawful."
Kahlon added that the verdict “was a blow to Nawaz Sharif who is on a path of executing personal revenge against Musharraf, and any attempt by the federal government to block the order will expose the federal government as having no respect for the rule of law."
Kahlon also said that “Musharraf’s decision to voluntarily return to Pakistan to face the courts without a deal in place is unprecedented in the history of Pakistan, and he should be awarded due recognition for respecting the judicial process."
"Musharraf is determined to get his name cleared from all the political motivated allegations pressed against him and is in strong spirits," he added.
The Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered the removal of former president Pervez Musharraf's name from the Exit Control List (ECL), Express News reported on Thursday.
However, the two-member bench of the SHC has suspended this order for around two weeks giving the federal government time to appeal against the decision before the Supreme Court.
The order will be enforced in 15 days in case the government fails to make an appeal by then.
Musharraf's lawyer Farogh Naseem said that a memorandum, which placed Musharraf’s name on the ECL, will be struck down after 15 days. He added that "if the federal government does not have a vengeful objective, they can withdraw the memorandum before this period is up."
Speaking to media in Karachi, Naseem said that “right to travel is a fundamental right,” adding that Musharraf does not want to live as a convict.
On May 29, the SHC had reserved its verdict on Musharraf’s petition for striking his name off the ECL.
Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Salman Aslam Butt had said that there is apprehension that once the petitioner is allowed to leave the country, he would never return to face the high-treason trial.
The former president’s lawyer Farogh Nasim had challenged the move, calling it ‘patently presumptuous’.
Appeal rejected
Earlier in the day, a court in Islamabad dismissed Musharraf's appeal for exemption from appearing in the Abdul Rashid Ghazi murder case, Express News reported.
The former president has been ordered to appear before the court on July 1.
Musharraf also faces treason charges for subverting and circumventing the Constitution by imposing emergency on November 3, 2007. The federal government had placed his name on the ECL, stating he might try to abscond.
APML lauds SHC decision
The All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) has welcomed the order of SHC to remove the name of Musharraf from the ECL after 15 days, terming it “a long overdue decision in the interests of justice.”
In a statement following the verdict of the two-member bench of the SHC, Chaudry Sarfraz Anjum Kahlon, political advisor to the former president said, “the decision confirms that there is no legal merit in Nawaz Sharif's politically vindictive objective to deny Musharraf the fundamental right to travel freely, and exposes Nawaz Sharif's actions as unlawful."
Kahlon added that the verdict “was a blow to Nawaz Sharif who is on a path of executing personal revenge against Musharraf, and any attempt by the federal government to block the order will expose the federal government as having no respect for the rule of law."
Kahlon also said that “Musharraf’s decision to voluntarily return to Pakistan to face the courts without a deal in place is unprecedented in the history of Pakistan, and he should be awarded due recognition for respecting the judicial process."
"Musharraf is determined to get his name cleared from all the political motivated allegations pressed against him and is in strong spirits," he added.