Federal cabinet conditionally approves removal of Nawaz Sharif’s name from ECL

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – The federal cabinet conditionally approved the removal of Nawaz Sharif’s name from the exit control list (ECL) on Tuesday. As per the condition, Nawaz Sharif will have to deposit surety bonds before leaving the country. He will be allowed to leave the country after providing the guarantee. The third meeting of the sub-committee will be held at 9:30pm today. Earlier, a meeting of the sub-committee of the federal cabinet was held to decide on the removal of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s name from the ECL. Federal Law Minister Farogh Naseem is presided over the meeting. A personal physician of the former prime minister as well as PML-N’s Deputy Secretary Attaullah Tarrar, Special Assistant to PM on Accountability Shahzad Akbar also attended the meeting. The secretary health and the head of medical board are briefing the sub-committee on the health of Nawaz Sharif. The recommendations of the sub-committee will be presented at the federal cabinet meeting today. The sub-committee has also summoned the NAB officials to the meeting. The law minister said NAB should give a detailed briefing regarding the removal of Nawaz Sharif's name from the ECL. A day earlier, the Interior Ministry has sent the matter of the removal of Nawaz Sharif’s name from the ECL to the sub-committee of the federal cabinet. Sources said that the federal cabinet’s sub-committee has the authority to remove his name from the ECL. Federal Minister for Law Farogh Naseem heads the sub-committee. A meeting of the sub-committee is likely to be held on Wednesday. Earlier, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had sent the matter to the Interior Ministry. In a letter, the NAB said that the federal government has power to remove the name of Nawaz Sharif from ECL. “The federal government had removed some names from the ECL without the permission of the NAB,” it stated. It said that the competent authority should itself decide to remove the name of Nawaz Sharif from the ECL. Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar had said that the name of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif will be removed from the exit control list (ECL) today. In a statement, the Punjab governor said that the government does not want to play politics on the matter of Nawaz Sharif’s health. He also mentioned that he has personally talked with the institutions regarding the matter of the former premier’s health. Chaudhry Sarwar said that extremism will be eliminated from the country. He expressed his concerns about the health of Nawaz Sharif. He offered prayers for Nawaz Sharif’s rehabilitation and said that the government provided best medical facilities to him. The Punjab governor said that the doctors’ panel has suggested Nawaz Sharif’s treatment from abroad and the government has a clear stance to send him abroad as soon as possible. He reassured that the promises made before the elections will be fulfilled. “The sit-in is not in the national interest. Our focus is on Kashmir right now. I think that no political party has taken benefit or loss from Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s sit-in,” he maintained.