LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday gave one-time permission to PTI leader Shahbaz Gill to visit abroad for four weeks.

A full bench, headed by Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti, heard a petition of Mr Gill against placing his name on the Exit Control List (ECL).

The chief justice directed a federal law officer to submit a detailed reply to the petition by the next date of hearing.

Earlier, the law officer opposed the petition and stated that several cases were registered against the petitioner Islamabad.

He said the petitioner was placed on the ECL at the request of the Islamabad commissioner.

He said the petitioner should approach the Islamabad High Court.

Mr Gill through a counsel pleaded that he had been implicated in multiple ‘baseless’ cases at the behest of the federal government.

He said the Federal Investigation Agency on the instructions of the interior ministry placed him on the ECL.

He argued that the impugned action of the respondents was a clear example of sheer political victimisation.

He asked the court to declare the impugned act of the respondents illegal and order them to remove his name from the ECL.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2023