Days after the Lahore High Court (LHC) granted one-time permission to Shehbaz Sharif to go abroad for medical treatment on May 07, the federal interior ministry on Monday urged the Supreme Court to suspend the permission claiming there is no guarantee that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president will fly back to Pakistan under the pretext of sickness.
On May 7, the Lahore High Court (LHC) has granted one-time permission to the PML-N leader to travel abroad for medical treatment but Federal Investigation Agency officials stopped Shehbaz Sharif at Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore on May 8 saying his name was not removed from the Provisional National Identification List .
The PML-N president is facing multiple corruption references of the National Accountability Bureau including a money laundering case. On Monday, at the same time the federal government has invoked the top court jurisdiction against LHC verdict in the matter, Shehbaz Sharif is seeking contempt proceedings against federal interior secretary, director general of the FIA Wajid Zia and a director of the agency Muhammad Rizwan. Shehbaz Sharif also sought directives for the government to implement the court decision in the matter.
When asked that what would be the fate of contempt of court petition in the LHC particularly when federation has assailed the one time permission to Shehbaz Sharif before top court, former president Supreme Court Bar Association Kamran Murtaza told TLTP that next date of hearing in permission to abroad case has been fixed for July 05 so no adjudication over the contempt plea will take precedence before the July 05 under law of the land.
Murtaza pointed out that the constitution doesn’t allow executive authority to interpret the court orders but to obey, saying legality of the LHC order has nothing to do with the FIA officials. He particularly mentioned that a deputy director law of the FIA was present in the LHC during pronouncement of the permission order to Shehbaz Sharif in the matter for traveling abroad who didn’t raise objection there, adding in such circumstances FIA cannot stop Shehbaz Sharif from going abroad. “Placing the name of Shehbaz Sharif after the court permission is likely to frustrate the LHC decision in the matter which is not appreciative in eye of the law”, said Murtaza.
Challenging the LHC interim decision in the matter on Monday the federal interior secretary questioned maintainability of the LHC order submitting whether the impugned order is sustainable in the law and the facts given the indisputable ground reality that there is every likelihood that Shehbaz like his absconding brother, will not return to Pakistan by creating false and bogus pretext of undergoing prolonged and unending medical treatment abroad?
“Whether a person facing criminal trial in a number of cases involving billions of rupees of public money and being on bail which too is being challenged before this court could be allowed to leave the country in haste without any prior permission from tor intimation to the trial Courts?”the federal interior secretary raised another question of law for top court to decide.
It is pertinent to mention that the government has placed Shehbaz Sharif name on the exit control list after the LHC decision in the matter.
