ISLAMABAD: In a relief to Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s Supreme Court today rejected the government’s plea to continue a travel ban on the former military ruler who is facing trial in a number of cases, including for high treason.
The court ruled that there was no legal bar on foreign travel by 72-year-old Musharraf unless he is stopped by the federal government.
The court rejected the appeal by the government against a decision by the Sindh High Court which had also ruled that the former president can leave the country.
Musharraf’s lawyer Farogh Naseem told media that the government had illegally stopped Musharraf from going abroad.
“As per verdict of Supreme Court, there is no bar on Musharraf to go abroad,” he said.
However, he also added that government has authority to stop anyone leaving the country by placing the name on the Exit Control List (ECL).
The issue of Musharraf’s foreign travel arose when the government launched a high treason case against him in 2013 for suspending the constitution in 2007.
The government in April, 2014 banned Musharraf’s foreign travels but the Sindh High Court in Karachi rejected the ban in a decision in June, 2014, which was challenged by the government in the Supreme Court.
A five-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali today upheld a Sindh High Court (SHC) decision, allowing Musharraf to travel abroad.(Agencies)
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