Inclusion, exclusion of names from blacklist DG FIA's prerogative: Fawad Chaudhry

The inclusion and exclusion of someone’s name on the blacklist is the prerogative of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director-general, said  Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Saturday.

In a tweet, the federal minister said the legal counsel of PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif had given no application to the FIA DG for removal of his name from the list.

The minister maintained that the record could not be changed by verbal statements. 

He said that the government will file an appeal in the court of law against this decision.

The drama unfolded on Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport when PML-N President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif was stopped from leaving the country despite having court orders to go abroad for medical treatment.

The immigration officials, citing a system update problem, barred him from getting onboard the Doha-bound flight early Saturday morning.

The PML-N leader was granted "one-time" permission by the Lahore High Court (LHC) to fly abroad on health grounds inviting criticism from the federal ministers.

Shahbaz, who is a cancer survivor, was scheduled to leave for Doha from the Lahore airport today. After spending some days in quarantine in Doha, he had planned to fly to London where he was to consult his doctors.

Sharif asked the officials to hand him the reason in writing. The officials gave him a form that reads: 'Offload by immigration'.

Several PML-N leaders, including Ata Tarar, Uzma Bukhari, and Marriyum Aurangzeb went to the airport to see off Shahbaz.