In a 'humanitarian' gesture, President Pervez Musharraf [Images] gave permission on Wednesday for issuing passport to exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to travel to London with his ailing son.

"Musharraf has allowed the Sharifs to go to London [Images] purely on humanitarian grounds as Sharif's son Hussain Nawaz is sick," Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told reporters, adding, "The gesture by President Musharraf shows that he doesn't take politics personally."

The Saudi Arabian government has been informed about the decision, he said. Sharif lives in Jeddah under the patronage of the Saudi royal family. He will be issued the passport whenever he visits the Pakistan embassy in the Saudi Kingdom, the minister added.

Sharif's old passport had expired and Pakistan had earlier refused to issue a replacement. When asked whether permission has also been given to rest of the family members, Sheikh Rashid said it was his personal opinion that they, too, should be allowed to accompany Hussain Nawaz.

"I am saying this in personal capacity and not as a government spokesman. Though I have yet to check all the details," he said. Sheikh Rashid said the two have been given permission to travel to the United Kingdom only.

• 'US, Saudi effort saved Sharif from death'

The information minister said the Pakistan government had,  in the past, also issued a passport to Sharif's brother Shabaz Sharif to go to the United States to undergo treatment for heart ailment. However, Shabaz was deported back to Jeddah by the same flight when he arrived in Lahore [Images] early this year.

The minister also cited the government's decision to grant a passport to Asif Ali Zardari, the husband of self-exiled former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, to go abroad to meet his family following his release from prison after eight years. Zardari recently underwent treatment for a heart ailment in New York.

The decisions are taken on merit and the government is not against anyone personally, Rashid said. The decision to grant a passport to Sharif is considered significant as it comes amidst calls from political parties to permit Sharif and Bhutto to return home to take part in the relief work following the earthquake on October 8.

• Benazir Bhutto has lunch with the Advanis

The move comes just over six years after Musharraf led a bloodless coup to oust Sharif. The former prime minister is serving a life sentence imposed by an anti-terrorism court for allegedly declining permission to Musharraf's plane to land, while he was returning from a visit to Colombo.

In the recent past, Musharraf has said that he would not permit both Bhutto and Sharif to return, saying they had misappropriated state funds during their tenures as prime ministers.

Both of them have also been barred to contest polls and the government has introduced a new rule limiting the leaders' term to hold the post of prime minister to two. Both of them held the post twice.