Pakistan court accepts plea seeking ban on Nawaz Sharif's foreign travel

LAHORE: A Pakistani court today accepted a plea seeking to put Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's name in the travel ban list so as to prevent him from leaving the country as a disqualification plea against him is yet to be heard.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) accepted for hearing the petition by Imran Ali calling for Sharif's name to be added to the Exit Control List (ECL).

Ali contended that Sharif's name should be added to the ECL so that he does not leave the country as the court was yet to hear the 1991 disqualification plea against him.

A five-member larger bench of the court headed by Justice Muhammad Farrukh Irfan Khan would hear the plea tomorrow.

In 1991, Ali filed a plea in the LHC seeking disqualification of Sharif, who the premier then, on grounds that he does not comply with Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

On May 6, the LHC took up the 24-year-old plea and constituted a larger bench to hear the case.

According to the law of the country, cases involving high-profile individuals such as the prime minister require at least five or seven judges on the bench.

Petitioner Ali Imran has said Sharif was not eligible to hold the post of prime minister as he has assets worth billions of rupees abroad.

"PM Sharif should be declared disqualified as he does meet the legal requirement under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution," the petitioner has argued