The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), on Monday while throwing the ball back in the federal government’s court regarding the removal of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL), said that the government is the competent authority authorised to remove names of people from no-fly list.
The development came hours after government’s chief spokesperson Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said that the decision to remove Nawaz’s name from ECL will be taken in light of recommendations of NAB and the medical board.
NAB, in its official response to the Interior Ministry, also stated that there were past precedents, including in the case of convicted murderer and former MQM worker Saulat Mirza, in which the federal government had struck convicts’ names off the ECL without asking NAB, the spokesperson added.
The Interior Ministry decided to send the matter to the federal cabinet, however according to the rules, the issue should have been sent to a sub-committee first.
It is also the prerogative of the cabinet to pick up the matter before a sub-committee.
Following the development, the federal cabinet will hold a session on Tuesday to finally decide on the issue of removing Nawaz’s name from the ECL.
Earlier in the day, special assistant to the prime minister on information Firdous Ashiq Awan said the government itself “does not place any individual’s name on the ECL. Names are placed on the ECL on the recommendations given by NAB and the courts. Now that an application has been filed for the name to be removed, the same process is being followed”.
“Hopefully, today we will receive NAB’s recommendations. […] NAB is the plaintiff in this case, he (Nawaz) is a suspect in [a case being probed by] NAB and was convicted by an accountability court.
“Secondly, the recommendations attached with the application filed are made by a medical board of Sharif Medical City. The government does not take decisions in light of directions from a private medical board, it was important to take the opinion of the government’s medical board.”
Awan said that reports from NAB and the medical board were delayed due to the weekend and added that a review committee in the law ministry would “analyse” opinions of both bodies after which the matter would be forwarded to the cabinet.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid said that an application had been submitted to the Ministry of Interior to permit Nawaz to go abroad for treatment.
Following this, the interior ministry had written to the health ministry asking them to get the opinion of the medical board. In response to this, the board said they had written a discharge summary and had provided all the details of the tests that needed to be carried out, adding that they [interior ministry] should act as they find suitable.
However, the interior ministry said they wanted a detailed report particularly regarding whether Nawaz should be sent abroad or not.
She said that the board met last night and based on their analysis, they feel that because the former premier’s condition isn’t stabilising and there may be tests that can’t be done in Pakistan, they recommend that he should be sent abroad.
Rashid said the health ministry had written to the medical board informing them that they had found some shortfalls in the report and could not send it to the interior ministry.
They had told the board to provide details of “each test or intervention required with risk factor involved to be specifically mentioned”.
The provincial health minister said that they asked the board about which tests can be conducted in Pakistan’s public sector hospitals and which ones cannot. Additionally, they asked which tests can be sent abroad and why Nawaz is a high-risk patient.
In response to a question regarding whether there was pressure on the medical board, Rashid said: “Being a doctor myself […] when I read the report, I felt that it was insufficient.
“We have not put any sort of political pressure on anyone. I think the board is completely independent, you can ask any board member.”
