LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) today (Wednesday) sought a reply from the federal government by May 26 on a petition against not allowing PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif to travel abroad despite the court’s earlier orders.
Justice Ali Baqir Najafi heard Shehbaz’s miscellaneous petition wherein the PML-N leader was represented by counsels Amjad Pervez Advocate and Azam Nazir Tarar.
In his petition, Shehbaz states that the LHC order, which allowed him to leave the country one-time, was announced on May 7 in front of the deputy attorney general and two Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials.
During the hearing, the court asked if the petition is admissible after the interim order of the LHC was challenged in the Supreme Court. Lawyer Tarar suggested the court summon a reply from the government to provide clarity.
The court ordered the government’s lawyer to check and tell the court whether Shehbaz’s name is on the no-fly list or not. The deputy attorney general said that Shahbaz did not submit the court order, regarding his departure abroad, to any concerned authorities, and went straight to the airport.
“It was Shehbaz Sharif’s responsibility to serve the court order. Airport staff told him that his name was not on the blacklist while the court order was related to the blacklist,” the deputy attorney general further prayed.
On this, the LHC issued notices to the federal government and other parties seeking a response on the matter on May 26.
On May 8, Shehbaz, who is also the leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, was to board a flight to Qatar when he was stopped by immigration officials at the Lahore airport.
