Imran, wife among others placed on ‘no-fly list'

The government on Thursday   placed the names of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi and dozens of other leaders -- who have or still not quit the party -- on the “no-fly list” on the grounds that they might flee abroad.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Interior and Legal Affairs Attaullah Tarar confirmed to The Express Tribune that names of the deposed premier, his wife and several other PTI leaders had been added to the “no-fly list”.

He refrained from using the term “Exit Control List” (ECL).

The SAPM, who has the status of a federal minister, further said former and incumbent PTI leaders including Qasim Suri, Murad Saeed, Hammad Azhar, Yasmin Rashid and Aslam Iqbal were also among those whose names had been added to the list.

The names of those, who have recently parted ways with the PTI including Asad Umar and Maleeka Bokhari, have also been included in the list in an attempt to keep them in the country.

Though the no-fly list or ECL is a legal tool to restrict the movement of ‘dangerous’ individuals and stop them from flying abroad, the names of political opponents have continuously been added to it by successive governments for years now.

Apart from booking in cases as well as arresting and re-arresting, preventing the opponents from freely travelling abroad will place extra pressure on them.

Although Imran has said on multiple occasions that he would not leave the country, the government has added the names of the PTI chief, his wife and other party leaders to the no-fly list.

“Imran Khan is not going anywhere so [placing] his name on [the] ECL is useless,” PTI leader and former state minister Farrukh Habib said in response to the government’s move.

He added that Imran was facing “political victimisation”.

The decision to place the names on the no-fly list has come on the heels of an unspoken strategy of the ‘powerful circles' of first arresting PTI leaders in connection with the May 9 vandalism of key government as well as military installations and then making sure that their freedom depended on leaving the party.

Usually, the people whose names are added to any list barring them from flying abroad is sent to airports and exit points across the country so that they cannot leave the country without the permission of the authorities concerned.

An investigator, who has dealt with such matters, said the probing agencies placed the names of individuals on the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL) before their names were added to the ECL.

The official added that placing the names on the PNIL could be carried out through a simple letter of the agency concerned.

However, he continued that the ECL performa required details of the individuals and the cases they were involved in.

As placing the names on the ECL took time, the official said the investigators sent a request through a PNIL form.

He said the purpose of restricting someone from flying abroad was achieved in both the cases.