- ECL also places Fawad Hassan Fawad’s name on list
ISLAMABAD: The Interior Ministry on Wednesday reportedly placed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s close aide Zulfi Bukhari on the Exit Control List (ECL) upon National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) request.
The name was added to the list after the cabinet committee’s approval following NAB’s request.
It was reported that Bukhari has been barred from leaving the country as there is an ongoing NAB probe against him pertaining to offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands (BVI).
In June, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had instructed Bukhari to join an ongoing NAB probe against him.
On July 15, the IHC had permitted the Ministry of Interior to decide an application of NAB, which sought Bukhari’s name on ECL, in connection with establishing offshore companies. IHC’s Justice Aamer Farooq held that the MoI shall be at liberty to take appropriate action in accordance with the law on NAB’s application for placing Bukhari’s name on the ECL.
Earlier, the court had issued the directives while hearing two petitions simultaneously: one filed by Bukhari seeking removal of his name from the blacklist and the other where a petitioner has challenged Bukhari’s name removal from the blacklist within mere hours which allowed him to leave the country and travel to Saudi Arabia and the use of the Noor Khan airbase in Islamabad for a private flight to Saudi Arabia.
Bukhari was not allowed to leave Pakistan when he proceeded to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah with PTI chairman and his wife. However, the Interior Ministry had later granted him a one-time permission to go abroad for six days.
Meanwhile, deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s former principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad’s name has also been placed on ECL as he is accused in various corruption cases and was arrested by NAB earlier in July.
NAB had claimed that it has uncovered property worth billions of rupees owned by Fawad and sent a supplementary reference filed by the bureau against former Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Director General Ahad Cheema over the matter.
Earlier, according to NAB officials, “Fawad was wrongfully awarded the Ashiana-e-Iqbal Housing Scheme’scontract to ‘favourites’, illegally ordered the shifting of nine CNG stations and also worked in a private bank from 2005 to 2006 without official permission.”
It was further reported that while being the provincial health secretary, Fawad had acquired six mobile health units which were purchased at a higher-than-market rate.
