KARACHI: The Sindh High Court Monday disposed off an application seeking removal of the name of former military ruler General (retd) Pervez Musharraf from the Exit Control List (ECL), DawnNews reported.
A two-member bench of the SHC, comprising Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, heard the arguments of the parties in the case today and concluded that the matter did not fall under the legal jurisdiction of the SHC because the High Court had only approved interim bail for Musharraf.
The court advised Musharraf's counsel Advocate A.Q. Halepota to refer the matter to the federal government or the trial court.
The application submitted by Halepota last month had sought a review of the court’s earlier order restraining Musharraf from leaving the country without permission of the trial courts.
Halepota had submitted that his client had appeared on March 29 before an SHC division bench and requested for a 21-day transitory bail for enabling him to surrender before the trial courts in cases pertaining to the killing of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The advocate had said that the court had extended Musharraf's bail for 21 days with the condition that he would not leave the country without permission of the trial courts and his name was placed on the exit control list.
The counsel had said that the trial courts had confirmed Gen Musharraf’s bail in both cases and he had also been granted bail in a case relating to the murder of Lal Masjid cleric Ghazi Abdul Rasheed during an army operation in 2007.
Advocate Halepota had said Musharraf wanted to see his 95-year-old mother who was seriously ill in Dubai. He said it was the Musharraf's desire to be with his mother after his release on bail.
The application had also added that placing Musharraf's name on the ECL was a violation of the former president's fundamental rights and had requested the court to modify its earlier order in this regard.