Pakistani court seeks govt response for Maryam's removal from no-fly list

A Pakistani court on Wednesday sought the government's response on PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz's request for removing her name from the no-fly list.

Maryam, the 46-year-old daughter of Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was placed on the no-fly list in August 2018. She wanted to travel London to see her ailing father.

She filed the petition before the Lahore High Court (LHC) for removal of her name from the Exit Control List (ECL) and return her passport, The Express Tribune reported.

The lawyer of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)'s vice-president said that a two-member bench of the LHC presided by Justice Tarq Abbasi heard the petition and sought a written explanation from the federal government on the delay in removing her name from the no-fly list.

On Tuesday, the federal cabinet, following a meeting headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad, gave a nod to place Maryam's name in the ECL in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) corruption case.

Maryam, whose name is in the ECL ever since she was convicted in the Avenfield corruption case in 2018, is also accused of money laundering.

She was arrested by the anti-corruption watchdog on August 8 last year in a case pertaining to "shady business transactions" at CSM, where she is a major shareholder.

She was granted bail by LHC in November later that year.

PML-N supremo Nawaz left for London on November 19 to undergo medical treatment, a month after the three-time premier was released on bail from a seven-year prison sentence for corruption.

Sharif is suffering from multiple health ailments, including an immune system disorder causing low platelet count, according to doctors.