LHC allows Gill to pay four-week visit to US

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday granted the PTI leader Shahbaz Gill permission to travel to the United States for four weeks.

A three-member bench headed by LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti heard the petition seeking the removal of Gill's name from the Exit Control List (ECL). As the hearing commenced, the court questioned under what law the PTI leader's name had been placed on the ECL.

The federal government's counsel informed the court that Gill had been accused in multiple cases in Islamabad, and explained that he had been placed on the ECL upon commissioner Islamabad's request. He claimed that the matter doesn't fall in the jurisdiction of the Lahore High Court.

Meanwhile, Gill assured the court that he will return after four weeks as he is a law-abiding citizen and has always cooperated with law institutions.

After hearing the arguments of both parties, the court allowed Gill to travel abroad and sought a reply from the government on the next hearing. Further, the Lahore High Court judge Tariq Saleem Sheikh has sought the formation of a larger bench to hear a plea concerning cases registered against Hassaan Niazi, the focal person of the PTI and nephew of Imran Khan.

The judge sent a request to the High Court's Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti for a larger bench to hear the application filed by Niazi's mother, seeking details of the cases against Hassaan Niazi.