Imran’s name recommended for no-fly list

Cabinet subpanel also proposes placing Bushra Bibi on ECL over £190m case

ISLAMABAD:

A federal cabinet subcommittee on Wednesday recommended placing the names of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi and 27 others on the Exit Control List (ECL) in connection with the £190 million settlement (Al-Qadir Trust) case.

The meeting of the federal cabinet subcommittee on the ECL, chaired by interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti, was held to review cases related to the no-fly list. It was attended by caretaker Railways Minister Shahid Ashraf Tarar, interior ministry officials and other institutions.

The 27 other people related to the case include the ex-first lady’s friend Farah Gogi. Zulfi Bukhari, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Murad Saeed, Pervez Khattak, Hammad Azhar, Shafqat Mehmood, Brig (retd) Ijaz Ahmed Shah, Ali Amin Gandapur, Khusro Bakhtiar, Azam Swati, Asad Umar, Umar Ayub, Sheikh Rashid, Fawad Chaudhry, Mehboob Sultan, Farogh Naseem, Shireen Mazari, Raja Manzoor Ahmad Kayani, Muhammad Arif Rahim, Muhammad Naveed Akbar, Sikandar Hayat, Muhammad Azam Khan, Nisar Muhammad, Ghulam Haider and Arif Nazir Butt.

The case against the PTI chief relates to corruption worth billions of rupees. The deposed premier was initially rounded up in the case on May 9 this year from the premises of the Islamabad High Court but was later released after the Supreme Court declared the arrest unlawful.

وفاقی کابینہ کی ذیلی کمیٹی برائے ای سی ایل کا اجلاس، وزیر داخلہ سرفراز احمد بگٹی اور وزیر مواصلات و ریلویز شاہداشرف تارڑ کی اجلاس میں شرکت، اجلاس میں وزارت داخلہ اور دیگر اداروں کے افسران کی بھی شرکت،اجلاس میں ای سی ایل سے متعلق مختلف نوعیت کے کیسز کا جائزہ لیا گیا. pic.twitter.com/uMXL8NfEbr

— Ministry of Interior GoP (@MOIofficialGoP) November 22, 2023

On November 14, the PTI chief, who was already imprisoned in Adiala Jail in the cipher case, was re-arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Al-Qadir Trust case. He was then handed over to the anti-graft body on physical remand.

During the meeting, the subcommittee recommended the inclusion of 41 names in the ECL -- to be sent by various departments and agencies. NAB recommended the names of 29 people, including that of Imran, to be put on the ECL for his alleged involvement in the £190 million settlement case. The names in 13 different types of cases were also recommended to be removed from the ECL.

On the instructions of the judiciary, the names of seven people were recommended to be taken off the no-fly list. Of the appeals submitted for revision, the names of three people were recommended to be withdrawn from the ECL. The recommendations of the subcommittee will be sent to the federal cabinet for the final approval.

According to the legal procedure adopted by the interior ministry for placing a person’s name on the ECL, the federal cabinet gives approval to include or remove names from the list. The names on the no-fly list are placed under the Exit from Pakistan (Control) Ordinance, 1981, on the grounds prescribed in the ECL Rules, 2010 and on the instructions of the superior as well as banking courts.

Read Govt approves Imran's in-prison trial in £190 million case

Initially, the cases are placed before a three-member subcommittee of the federal cabinet on the ECL for its recommendations. The body comprises of the federal law minister; special assistant to the prime minister on accountability and interior; and interior secretary.

The recommendations of the subcommittee are forwarded to the federal cabinet for approval.The names are placed and removed from the ECL as soon as the federal cabinet’s instructions are received.

The interior ministry may, keeping in view the urgency of the cases, put or withdraw the names from the now-fly list if directed by the SC, HCs and banking court in terms of Rule 2 (2) of ECL Rules. However, subsequently the cases are placed before the cabinet for approval through the subcommittee.

(With input from APP)