Photo courtesy PID
The new coalition government on Friday announced it had amended the rules governing the Exit Control List, inclusion to which bars citizens from traveling abroad, as part of reforms to end the previous practice of keeping people on the no-fly list without cause for years.
In a press conference from Islamabad, newly appointed Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that under the new rules, which have already been approved by the federal cabinet, authorities would automatically remove the name of any person on the ECL after the passage of 120 days. However, he added, this duration could be extended for 90 days if there were concrete evidence of any wrongdoing.
Clarifying the new rules, the minister said the automatic removal of names from the ECL would not apply to people accused of terrorism, heinous crimes, drug trafficking, threat to national security, and cases forwarded by registrars of the Supreme Court, high courts and banking courts. He said a new rule had been added under which any review of ECL placements would be decided within 30 days.
In another change to the ECL rules, people involved in Ponzi schemes or other actions that impacted a significant number of citizens could now be placed on the no-fly list under law.
According to Sanaullah, the ECL rules had been amended on merit and would apply to all citizens, regardless of political affiliation or socio-economic status. He said that there were 4,863 names on the ECL currently, adding that the new rules would allow up to 3,000 to travel abroad without hindrance.
The interior minister said the new government would also review the “black list,” which currently has the names of over 30,000 people, adding that this process would be completed in a few weeks.
Explaining the need to amend the ECL rules, Sanaullah said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had taken notice of the issue shortly after taking office and formed a committee to forward proposals for amending the ECL rules within three days. Comprising Ayaz Sadiq, Azam Nazir Tarar, Naveed Qamar and Maulana Asad Mehmood, the committed had completed its task within the stipulated time, he said, adding that the new rules would curb the practice of people being put on the ECL unnecessarily, as had been done by the National Accountability Bureau to victimize political opponents.
Foolproof security
The interior minister said that, as per the directives of P.M. Sharif, foolproof security was being provided to former prime minister Imran Khan. “Security protocol, as approved by the former P.M.’s principal secretary Azam Khan, is being provided to Imran Khan,” he said, adding that the ousted premier had written to the incumbent government seeking foolproof security in light of threats to his life.
To a question, Sanaullah said no case would be registered against anyone on political grounds. However, he said, cases would be filed on the basis of thorough inquiries and solid evidence.
To another question, he said a meeting of the National Security Committee had found no evidence of any “foreign conspiracy” to oust the PTI-led government.