ISLAMABAD. The government on Monday filed two separate petitions in the Supreme Court against removing the name of former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf from the Exit Control List (ECL) and appealed against the Sindh High Court's verdict about removing Musharraf's name from the ECL.

The three-member bench headed by Justice Saqib Nisar and comprising Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and Justice Ejaz Afzal was hearing the federal government's petition.

Attorney General Salman Butt pleaded to the court for the early hearing of the federal plea and said if the SHC gives its verdict over a review petition of the former president Musharraf earlier, he will leave the country. The former military leader’s lawyers have filed a review petition with the SHC, seeking reduction in the number of days given to the government for appeal to three.

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Justice Saqib in his remarks said that the court has nothing to do with the nature of the decision over the review petition. Whether the matter relates with Musharraf or a common man it is the same for the court, he observed.

The court referred the matter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) for constitution of a new bench for hearing the federal government's plea.

During the course of proceedings, the attorney general requested the court to fix the hearing of the petition this week, as a review petition on behalf of Pervez Musharraf. He said that the federal government's petition in Supreme Court would become in fructuous in case of any decision.

Justice Saqib Nisar remarked, “You had submitted the petition seeking hearing soon, which we have heard. Now, your petition would first be processed in the Supreme Court office and then the matter would go to CJP Justice Tasadduq Hussain Jilani, who would constitute the bench.”