State control: Govt may toughen ECL laws

Fresh legislation will give executive more authority to bar people from going abroad

ISLAMABAD:

In a bid to strengthen the state and tighten border control, the government has decided to revise laws linked with the exit control list (ECL) — some 33 years after the Exit from Pakistan (Control) Ordinance 1981 was systematically enforced in the country.

The fresh legislation, if introduced by the interior ministry into parliament, will not only further enhance the administrative authority of the executive to prohibit any person from proceeding abroad but will also review 2010 ECL Rules, introduced by the previous government.

“We are going to revise existing ECL-related laws,” a senior officer at the interior ministry confirmed to The Express Tribune on Monday.

The ministry has already sought input from provincial home departments, ministry of finance, State Bank of Pakistan, ministry of law and justice and human rights, and other law enforcement agencies concerned to revamp these laws, he explained.



With contribution of all stakeholders, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan will send the proposed legislation to the ministry of law and justice and human rights, he added.

“Pakistan Peoples Party government did introduce the Exit from Pakistan (Control) Rules, 2010, in order to make the laws better, however, the current executive authorities wanted to revamp the existing ECL laws,” officials engaged in the process explained.

They revealed that a fresh piece of legislation will come hard on persons involved in mass embezzlement as well as misuse of authority resulting in loss to the national exchequer. Politicians, notables and government employees involved in financial crime involving institutional frauds will not be able to proceed abroad at any cost, they added.

Under the new laws, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) will have more power to stop the accused on the spot for smooth implementation of orders related to placing someone’s name on the ECL, officials said. Fresh laws will be more specific and may not provide any such room to notables and influential people, they added.

Existing clauses of laws dealing with hardened criminals involved in acts of terrorism and conspiracy are also being revisited. Similarly, defaulters who have liabilities of Rs5 million will also come under the newly proposed law, they said. “Names of people involved in terrorist activities and human and drug trafficking will also be put on ECL.”

The new laws will provide ample opportunity to all aggrieved persons to challenge orders of the executive seeking removal of their name from the ECL in any court, another officer observed. “However, it will be for the federal government to retain the name of any individual for more than three months on ECL without explaining its stance to the respective court.”

Former inspector general police Afzal Shigri termed it a positive move to revamp ECL laws. “No discrimination policy must be applied while revamping ECL laws,” he told The Express Tribune.

Currently, names of 2,500 people are on the ECL which includes many notables including former president and military chief General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, former envoy to US Hussain Haqqani, owner of Bhoja Air Farooq Bhoja, former religious affairs minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi, former commerce minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim, son of former prime minister, Ali Musa Gilani and former federal secretary Ahmed Lehri.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2014.