Court rules Ali Musa Gilani can fly abroad

Name of ex-premier’s son was on ECL since May 2013

LAHORE: Ali Musa Gilani, son of ex-prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, is a free man. He can finally fly abroad after spending more than three years on the no-fly list. The Lahore High Court has ordered removing Ali’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL) that was included for his involvement in the infamous ephedrine case.

On Monday, Justice Shams Mahmood Mirza ordered the government to remove the restriction on foreign travels of the former premier’s son.



The petitioner, through his counsel Barrister Salman Safdar, submitted the interior ministry had on May 15, 2013 put his name on the ECL over mere allegations against him in the ephedrine case.

He alleged the interim government put his name on the no-fly list after nursing a grudge against him as he and his father were criticising the interim government over the kidnapping of his brother, Ali Haider Gilani.

Ali contended that it had already been proved that he was innocent.

Advocate Safdar said the Supreme Court had granted bail to the suspect in the case and had not issued any directions for putting his name on the ECL. He requested the court to issue directions to the interior ministry to immediately remove this client’s name from the no-fly list.

In its reply, the interior ministry and the Anti-Narcotics Force said Ali Musa was wanted in the ephedrine case and a charge-sheet had been submitted in the trial court. If his name was taken off the ECL, he might try to flee the country to avoid court proceedings against him, the reply stated.

Earlier the LHC Registrar Office had objected to the maintainability of Ali’s petition, saying the plaintiff should approach the LHC Rawalpindi bench as the trial was pending in Islamabad. LHC’s Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan had overruled the objection and fixed the plea for hearing.

On Monday, the LHC announced its verdict, which was reserved a few days ago after conclusion of the arguments, and allowed Ali’s request while directing the interior minister to remove his name from the no-fly-list.

Back in 2010, Ali Musa was accused of influencing health ministry officials to allocate a quota of controlled chemical ephedrine, reportedly worth Rs70 billion, to two different Multan-based pharmaceutical companies. Apart from use in medicines, the substance is also used in the manufacture of party drugs.



The Gilani family has always pleaded innocence, claiming Ali had nothing to do with the ephedrine case, and that the family and the Pakistan Peoples Party was being politically victimised.

According to ANF officials, Danas Pharmaceutical Company owned of Makhdoom Shahabudin and Berlex Pharmaceutical owned by Ali Musa obtained a 9,000kg quota of ephedrine from the health ministry for further export to Iraq and Afghanistan.

However, the manufacturers later got the export quotas converted to local consumption quotas and allegedly smuggled the chemical to Iran for Rs7 billion with the help of smugglers in Quetta and Karachi.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2016.