Nawaz Sharif's passport will be cancelled on Feb 16, says Pak minister

Islamabad, Dec 30: The Pakistan government on Wednesday said it will cancel the passport of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on February 16.

Sharif, 70, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) supremo, has been living in London since November last year after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for four weeks for treatment.

The three-time former prime minister, who was convicted in two corruption cases -- Avenfield properties and Al-Azizia -- was declared a proclaimed offender earlier this month by the Islamabad High Court after he failed to appear before it despite several warnings.

"(We) will cancel Nawaz Sharif's passport on February 16,” Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told reporters here in response to a query. He, however, did not provide any further details. Meanwhile, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, said Pakistan had asked the British authorities to deport Sharif who was convicted by the courts. Pakistan currently has no extradition treaty with Britain.

Prime Minister Imran Khan in October had said he would contact his British counterpart Boris Johnson, if needed, to discuss Sharif's deportation. Sharif resigned as Pakistan prime minister in 2017 after the Supreme Court disqualified him from holding public office and ruled that graft cases be filed against the beleaguered leader and his children over the Panama Papers scandal.