Musharraf seeks travel to Saudi Arabia to condole King’s demise

Musharraf has request that his name should be lifted from the ECL so that he could visit Saudi Arabia

ISLAMABAD: Former president (retd) general Pervez Musharraf has requested the government to allow him to travel to Saudi Arabia to condole late King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, who died on Friday in the oil-rich country.

“Musharraf wants to condole with King Abdullah’s family — for it we have requested the interior ministry to lift his name from the Exit Control List (ECL),” the All Pakistan Muslim League’s chief coordinator Ahmed Raza Kasuri told The Express Tribune.

The government had put Musharraf’s name on the ECL since he was facing various trials in the country, including for treason.

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz died on Friday and was replaced by Crown Prince Salman, the OPEC-kingpin’s royal court said in a statement.

King Abdullah, believed to be around 90 years old, was hospitalised in December suffering from pneumonia and had been breathing with the aid of a tube.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has long standing ties with the Saudi royal family, attended the king's funeral prayers.

Expressing grief and sorrow over the demise of King Abdullah, PM Nawaz said the late ruler had a “special place in the heart of every Pakistani being the custodian of Islam’s holy mosques”.

Moreover, leaders world over condoled the death of the aged king as well.