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Former Pakistani military President Pervez Musharraf, currently facing a high treason trial, on Monday moved a court to seek lifting a travel ban on him as he wants medical treatment abroad, his lawyers said. Musharraf also wants to visit his ailing mother in the United Arab Emirates, they said.
The government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has included Musharraf's name on the Exit Control List (ECL), which means he cannot leave the country without permission.
A special court that hears the high treason case against Musharraf has already turned down his request to remove his name from the ECL. However, he has now filed a petition in another court in the port city of Karachi.
Faroogh Nasim, a senior defence lawyer for Musharraf, argued before the court that no court has imposed restrictions on the movement of his client and that he should be allowed to go abroad.
The former president has got bails in high profile cases including the one related to the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, his lawyer further argued in the court. He requested the judges to hear the case on urgent basis.
A two-member bench of the Sindh High Court admitted the petition for hearing and sought a reply from the federal government and summoned senior officials of the Interior Ministry and the country's Federal Investigation Agency.
The court will hear the government's view on April 23.
The petition said that Pervez Musharraf had earlier sent an application to the Interior Ministry and asked for removal of his name from the ECL. The government, however, insisted that he cannot be allowed to leave the country as he faces several cases in courts.
Musharraf's lawyer described imposing travel restrictions as an act of "victimization" as many people who face cases and are on bails could go abroad.
"No courts, including the Supreme Court, have imposed travel ban on Pervez Musharraf and any court can summon him anytime," Nasim told the court.
The government put Musharraf's name on ECL in April last year to ensure he could face cases in the country.
Musharraf had earlier stated that he wants to visit his 95-year- old mother Zarin Musharraf, who was admitted to a hospital in Sharjah earlier this month. He himself also wants medical treatment in the United States.
Musharraf's wife Sehba had submitted an application to the Interior Ministry in January, asking for allowing him to receive treatment abroad. However, the petition was rejected.
Rumors gripped Pakistan that Musharraf could leave the country when he landed in Karachi last weekend for the first time since his trial in several cases has started last year.
