Nawaz’s treatment abroad: PTI had no locus standi to become party to the matter, says LHC

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday ruled that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had no locus standi to become a party to the matter of allowing former Primer Nawaz Sharif to go abroad for medical treatment.

PTI senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry filed a petition to become a party in the bail granting order of Nawaz Sharif in 2019.

Earlier, the petitioner’s argued that Nawaz Sharif was allowed to travel abroad in light of an undertaking given by his brother Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on a stamp paper.

He said the former prime minister had not returned to the court so far despite the lapse of four years.

Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, who was heading a division bench, observed that the PTI did not agitate the matter when it was in the government and now it wanted the court to take an action.

The judge observed that the federal government and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) were party to the case, therefore, a political party had no locus standi to become a part of the proceedings.

Fawad Chaudhry said the Sharifs committed a fraud with the court.

The judge, however, retrained the PTI leader from giving political statements in the court.

The bench dismissed the petition for being not maintainable. Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi was the other member on the bench.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Najafi had in November 2019 PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif to travel abroad initially for an extendable period of four weeks.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023