ISLAMABAD- The Supreme Court today overruled the Sindh High Court (SHC) order to remove former president Pervez Musharraf's name from the Exit Control List (ECL) barring him from leaving the country.
A five-judge larger bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk, accepted the government's plea challenging the SHC's ruling which ordered the removal of Pervez Musharraf's name from the ECL.
The former president had moved the Sindh High Court to remove his name so he may travel freely. The high court ruled that Musharraf's name be removed albeit the court suspended the operation of its order for 15 days during which time the government could appeal before the apex court.
In its appeal before the Supreme Court, the federal government maintained that Musharraf was the only accused in the treason case and there are other pending cases against him in courts, thus his name should not be removed from the ECL. The appeal stated that Musharraf should not be allowed to
leave the country until cases against him are decided. Following today's ruling, the former president's name will remain on the ECL.
The 70-year-old Musharraf was indicted in March on charges relating to his imposition of emergency rule in late 2007. The ex-general, who seized power in 1999 and resigned in 2008, has pleaded "not guilty" to the charges.