LHC to hear why Shehbaz wasn’t allowed to travel abroad

Lahore High Court will hear the petition of PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, which asks for the implementation of an earlier court order allowing him to travel abroad.

Shehbaz field this petition and another on contempt of court against the government and the Federal Investigation Agency Monday. He said he was stopped from travelling to London on May 8 despite a LHC order given on the previous day allowing him to.

The LHC office did not admit the contempt petition and said that the court is hearing only urgent cases due to the pandemic. The other petition will be set for hearing.

As the UK has imposed a travel ban on Pakistan, Shehbaz was supposed to fly to Qatar, spend 10 days there and then leave for London. He was, however, offloaded from a flight to Doha at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport on May 8.

The government then placed him on the Exit Control List Monday, which prevents him from flying abroad. The PML-N can submit a review petition in the next 15 days if Shehbaz feels the decision is unfair, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed said in a press conference Monday.

A sub-committee of the federal cabinet recommended placing Shehbaz’s name on the ECL last week. The recommendation was made on the request of the National Accountability Bureau, which has filed multiple corruption references against him.