Pak govt given seven days by court to decide on removal of Maryam's name from no-fly list

A Pakistani court on Monday directed the federal government to decide within seven days about removing the name of PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz from the no-fly list so she can visit her ailing father in London, according to media reports.

Maryam, the 46-year-old daughter of Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was placed on the no-fly list in August 2018 in an alleged corruption case.

Maryam has sought a one-time permission to travel abroad for six weeks from the date of departure. Another petition has been filed seeking release of her passport which is currently confiscated by the high court.

Before obtaining bail last month, she had been in custody following an investigation into the Chaudhry Sugar Mills corruption case. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested Maryam on August 8.

On Saturday, Maryam filed a petition in the Lahore High Court seeking the removal of her name from the the Exit Control List (ECL) or the no-fly list.

The Lahore High Court on Monday sent Maryam's plea seeking the removal of her name from the Exit Control List to a review committee of the Ministry of Interior, the Express Tribune reported.

A two-member bench of the high court, headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, presided over the hearing on Monday into a petition filed by Maryam to remove her name from the ECL so she can visit her ailing father in London, Geo News reported.

In her petition, Maryam stated that she wished to go abroad for six weeks, expressing concern over the deteriorating health of her father, who is currently in London for medical treatment, the report said.

Sharif, 69, left for London from Pakistan on November 19 in an air ambulance for medical treatment after the Lahore High Court allowed him to travel abroad for four weeks. The four-week duration can be extended further on his doctors' recommendations.

According to PML-N spokesperson, Sharif is now set to be taken to the US for further treatment.

The three-time prime minister and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) PML-N supremo is suffering from multiple health ailments, including an immune system disorder causing low platelet count.

Maryam has claimed that her previous track record should grant her some relief.

Last year, she returned from the UK where she was looking after her ailing mother, Kulsoom Nawaz, to face trial in the corruption case filed against her in Pakistani courts.