IHC dismisses request to put Musharraf on Exit Control List

Earlier today, magistrate also refused to grant five-day remand of Musharraf in the Ghazi Abdul Rasheed murder case.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court on Friday dismissed a request to put the name of former dictator Pervez Musharraf on the Exit Control List (ECL), Express News reported.

Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan rejected the petition which was filed by Haroon Rasheed Ghazi, son of slain Lal Masjid deputy cleric Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi. The petition sought court direction to put Musharraf’s name on ECL, citing he is set to leave the country after Supreme Court (SC) had accepted his bail in Akbar Bughti murder case.

Counsel for the petitioner Advocate Tariq Asad maintained that Musharraf is set to leave the country after Eidul Azha. He said that the anti terrorism court (ATC) had already granted him bail in two cases -  Benazir Bhutto murder case and judge’s detention case but the first information report (FIR) was registered against him for initiating Lal Masjid operation in 2007.

Ghazi murder case

A magistrate’s court in Islamabad granted 14-day judicial remand of Musharraf in Lal Masjid cleric’s murder case.

The magistrate had earlier refused to grant remand, saying Musharraf should be presented before the court.

Senior Islamabad police officials later told the magistrate that bringing Musharraf to the court involves great security risk.

After listening to these arguments, the court awarded the judicial remand and sent Musharraf to jail – the Chak Shehzad farmhouse.

Short-term freedom

Musharraf, who had only just managed to secure his release on October 10 following bail being granted in the Akbar Bugti murder case, had found himself under arrest again for the charge of murdering the ‘prayer leader’ of Lal Masjid, Abdul Rasheed during the infamous 2007 operation after a few hours.

The indicted former president had already received bail in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case and the judges’ detention case.