UK govt rejects Nawaz Sharif’s visa extension plea

Islamabad [Pakistan], August 6 (ANI): Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s request for an extension in his visit visa has been rejected by the UK government, Geo News reported on Thursday.

According to the publication, Nawaz’s six-month visit visa had expired, after which he had put in a request with the UK Home Office to grant him an extension on health grounds. The immigration department, however, denied the request.

In 2018, accountability court Judge Mohammad Arshad Malik had convicted Nawaz in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills Company (ASCL) and Hill Metal Establishment (HME) reference and awarded him seven years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1.5 billion and USD 25 million.

In 2019, after Nawaz was said by his doctors to be suffering from complicated cardiac disease and an immune system disorder that resulted in a dangerously low platelet count, his sentence in the Al Azizia reference was suspended by a two-member bench of the IHC comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, for eight weeks on medical grounds, reported Geo News.

Since November 2019, Nawaz has been living in London after he was allowed to leave the country for medical treatment.

Meanwhile, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed said that Nawaz’s passport — a diplomat passport owing to him being a former prime minister — had expired on February 16 and that he is “no longer a citizen of Pakistan”, Geo News reported.

The interior minister said that Nawaz cannot travel anywhere with his expired Pakistani passport. “If Nawaz Sharif wishes to come to Pakistan, he can obtain a passport within 24 hours,” he added.

Rasheed said the embassy can only issue a passport for his return to Pakistan. He further stated that Pakistan has been trying to bring Nawaz back for a while but is unable to do so.

However, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb has said that the UK home department stated in their response that Nawaz can appeal the decision with an immigration tribunal, reported Geo News.

She said Nawaz’s lawyers had therefore filed an appeal with the tribunal, which include his medical records. Marriyum stated that until the tribunal makes a decision, the home department’s orders will remain ineffective. (ANI)