LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday admitted for hearing a plea seeking the inclusion of the name of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s wife Kulsoom Nawaz on the Exit Control List (ECL).

Petitioner Advocate Javed Iqbal Jaffery submitted the plea to the court which was admitted for hearing by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah after objections earlier raised on the application were removed.

In his application, the petitioner stated that the prime minister and his wife took luxurious international tours on government funds, adding that the premier has made frequent visits to the UK, China and Turkey.

The petitioner further stated that the premier was extending his personal family businesses through these costly excursions funded by the national treasury.

The prime minister has been widely criticised in the past regarding his foreign trips and apparent neglect for problems at home. During his first five months in the job, the chief executive of the country had reportedly spent nearly a month abroad on one private and five official visits.

The petition also comes as protesters from Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) have been engaged in anti-government protests in the federal capital on the calls of their respective party chiefs. The protesters have been adamantly demanding Nawaz's resignation and the ouster of his government.

The Supreme Court today will also take up disqualification petitions against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for allegedly misleading Parliament on August 29, when he had claimed that the government had not asked the armed forces to ‘mediate’ in the political crisis in Islamabad or become a ‘guarantor’ between the government and the protesting PTI and PAT.