Five days since a plea to remove Nawaz Sharif's name from the Exit Control List (ECL), the procedure to remove Sharif from the ECL is still caught up in bureaucratic confusion.
In a response to the Interior Ministry on Monday, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) clarified that it did not have the authority to remove names of people from the ECL. Only the federal government does, it said. It also added that it had no objection to
Although the ailing former premier was expected to leave Pakistan on Sunday, his departure has been delayed since the government has still not removed his name off the ECL. This is in spite of several government ministers saying that Sharif will be removed from the ECL, five days since he was discharged from Services Hospital.
The medical board overseeing Sharif's health advised Sharif to be taken overseas for better treatment. Politicians from Sharif's party have made repeated press conferences conveying the urgent need to send Sharif overseas, before his health continues to deteriorate.
The federal cabinet has now said that it will hold a meeting to discuss Sharif's removal from the ECL on Tuesday.
On Monday, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said that the ministry of interior had sought additional details from the medical board - although the board had earlier said that it could no longer provide additional diagnoses or reports for Sharif, as he has been discharged from the Services Hospital.
Rashid, while she was speaking to reporters, said: “We then wrote back to the doctors asking them to elaborate what those tests are that are not available at public hospitals in the country and to explain why Nawaz Sharif was a high-risk patient?” Rashid added.
She also added: “It is our right to seek details from the board that will help the interior ministry understand the matter.”
Rashid also rubbished speculations that the government could pressurize the medical board, which she added was independent. “I have never doubted Nawaz Sharif's illness,” the health minister said, “He has always been treated as a high-profile patient.”