In the hearing, which has been adjourned till Saturday, the federal government had opposed the plea seeking unconditional permission for the PML-N supremo to travel abroad.
A divisional bench comprising Justice Ali Baqar Najafi and Justice Sardar Ahmad Naeem heard the petition which maintained that Nawaz’s health was deteriorating and his medical treatment was not possible in Pakistan.
Shehbaz had filed the petition after rejecting the government’s condition of submitting Rs7 billion indemnity bonds to strike his name off the ECL.
The government was violating Article-15 of the Constitution which guaranteed freedom of movement, said the petition.
PML-N has moved LHC for removing Nawaz’s name from ECL: Shehbaz
Maintaining that the high courts have already granted him bail to “seek treatment anywhere in Pakistan or abroad,” the PML-N earlier had refused to submit indemnity bonds.
In a previous hearing, Additional Attorney General Ishtiaq A Khan had challenged the petition by saying that the former premier was already out on bail.
When the divisional bench asked if the former premier wanted to go abroad for medical treatment, Nawaz’s counsel said, “If the court permits.”
The bench questioned whether the federal government had the mandate to set conditions for removing Nawaz’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL). Justice Najafi inquired if Nawaz was placed on the ECL in 2018 with the recommendation of NAB’s Lahore or Islamabad bureau.
Nawaz was shifted from Kot Lakhpat jail to the hospital last month after his personal physician Dr Adnan Khan raised an alarm over his deteriorating health.
The PML-N president had then submitted a request to the interior ministry as well as NAB for the removal of Nawaz’s name from the ECL so that the former prime minister could travel abroad for medical treatment.
The PML-N supremo was granted bail by LHC whereas his sentence was suspended by the Islamabad High Court for eight weeks on medical grounds.
PML-N welcomes decision
Welcoming the court’s decision, PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said his party was hopeful that the court would nullify the government’s illegal condition of tying Nawaz’s travel to indemnity bond.
Addressing the media in Lahore, Iqbal said the government’s stance against the petition’s early hearing reflected that it was not concerned about the deteriorating health of the former three-time premier.
