Pakistan govenment denies Maryam Nawaz permission to travel abroad

Pakistan government rejected the application of Maryam Nawaz, daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, to travel abroad. The vice president of Pakistan Muslim League (N) had sought removal of her name from the Exit Control List (ECL) after she was granted bail in a money laundering issue last month.

Facing corruption case

Maryam was in custody for investigation in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills corruption case before obtaining the bail. Nawaz Sharif, who is currently in London, was diagnosed with complicated coronary disease and Maryam also wanted to leave for the UK capital to look after him. The subcommittee of the federal cabinet headed by Law Minister Farogh Naseem, dealing with ECL cases, rejected Maryam’s plea. 

"The rules concerning placement of the name of persons on Exit Control List do not allow the government to entertain her application to remove her name from the no-fly list," said an aide to the prime minister and senior lawyer Babar Awan to a news agency.

"In fact, the subcommittee is part of the cabinet and a formal announcement to bar Maryam from travelling abroad will be made by the federal cabinet in its meeting," he added.

Read: Nawaz Sharif To Leave For Specialist Medical Care In US: Report

Awan said that under Exit from Pakistan (Control) Rules, 2010, the government could stop a person with valid travel documents from travelling abroad if he/she is involved in corruption and loss to government funds. The PML-N Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb, in a statement, said that this did not come as a surprise and accused Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of looking for opportunities to persecute the PML-N leadership.

Read: Pakistan: Maryam Nawaz Seeks Name Removal From Exit Control List

Former PM ailing

Nawaz Sharif, who was serving a seven-year prison sentence for corruption, was allowed to leave Pakistan on medical grounds. The government had put a condition on Sharif to submit an indemnity bond as a guarantee to return to Pakistan after treatment but he rejected it. Later in November, he was allowed by the Lahore High Court to travel overseas for medical treatment without any bond.

Read: Pakistan Court Grants Bail To Maryam Nawaz In Money Laundering Case

Read: Pakistan: Maryam Nawaz Admitted To Same Services Hospital As Sharif

(With ANI inputs)