The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday requested a response from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) pertaining to the removal of PPP leader Dr Asim Hussain's name from the Exit Control List (ECL).

Dr Asim's lawyer, Sardar Latif Khosa, while presenting arguments for the removal of his client's name from the no-fly list, argued that Dr Asim's medical treatment is ongoing.

He was scheduled to leave Pakistan on Nov 9, but his flight has now been pushed ahead to Nov 21, Khosa told the two-judge bench headed by Justice Masheer Alam.

The lawyer observed that the court had earlier granted Dr Asim permission to go abroad for treatment and ordered him to return within a month, which he had done. As he appeared to be healthy, the court ordered his name be put on the ECL again, Khosa said.

The court accepted the lawyer's request that the case be heard again on Thursday and issued a notice to NAB asking the accountability body to provide a response regarding Dr Asim's request by Nov 16.

Dr Asim Hussain was taken into Rangers custody in August 2015. After spending 19 months in detention, he was released from prison on the orders of the Sindh High Court in March 2017.

He had been booked on the complaint of the paramilitary force for allegedly treating and harbouring suspected terrorists at the North Nazimabad and Clifton branches of his hospital at the behest of some MQM and PPP leaders.

Corruption references had also been filed against the former minister by NAB for allegedly causing massive losses to the national exchequer through corrupt practices.