Nawaz Sharif unlikely to travel to London for treatment after Pakistan govt delays move to remove ex-PM name from no-fly list

Lahore: Ailing former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif may not travel to London on Sunday for treatment as government delayed removal of his name from the no fly-list. The 69-year-old Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo agreed on Friday to go to the UK for the treatment, heeding doctors’ advice and accepting his family’s request. He was scheduled to leave for London on a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight on Sunday morning. “The government could not remove Sharif’s name from the no fly-list (Exist Control List-ECL) as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman was not available to issue no objection certificate in this case,” a government official told PTI. He said the officials of the NAB have also sought Sharif’s medical reports. [caption id=“attachment_5231801” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif. AP[/caption] The official said that as a special case, the government may remove his name from the ECL enabling Sharif to catch his flight at 9 am on Sunday, otherwise this matter will be taken up on Monday. On Saturday, a senior PML-N leader told PTI that Sharif is leaving for London on the PIA flight on Sunday morning along with his brother Shehbaz Sharif for treatment. The PML-N leader chided Prime Minister Imran Khan for backing out of its commitment in which he said that he had no objection on Sharif’s travel abroad for treatment. Special Assistant to prime minister Firdous Ashiq Awan said Sharif was seriously ill and Khan had a clear intention that politics and health issues should be considered separately. “Prime minister Imran Khan is of the view that all legal formalities must be addressed in the case of Sharif,” she said. Sharif is going to London after doctors categorically told him that they had exhausted all options available in Pakistan and seeking treatment abroad was the only one option left. The three-time premier has already secured bail in Al-Azizia Mills corruption case for eight weeks on medical grounds and in the money laundering case. In Al-Azizia case, Sharif was serving a seven-year imprisonment in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail. His daughter Maryam Nawaz will not accompany him as she had to surrender her passport to the Lahore High Court as a surety against the bail granted to her in the money laundering case. She may explore the option of going to London later, the PML-N leader said. According to him, Sharif’s sons, Hasan and Hussain, and another daughter Asma, who live in London, will look after him. On Saturday, Sharif’s platelet count was over 20,000. “As his platelet count should be 50,000 and beyond for travel abroad, the doctors may give him high dose to increase his platelets, enabling him to undertake the travel,” he added. The Pakistan government decided to let Sharif go abroad for treatment due to his critical medical conditions. Earlier, Maryam said, “Mian sahib’s condition is very critical and he must go abroad for diagnosis of his disease and treatment. Doctors of the government and private medical boards have exhausted all options and they have unanimously recommended his treatment abroad.” “I wanted to stay with my father during his treatment (in London), but my passport is with the court. My thoughts and prayers will be with my father when he gets treatment,” she said.