Thursday 27 December 2018

All 172 suspects in fake bank accounts case to be placed on ECL: Minister for information

All 172 suspects in fake bank accounts case to be placed on ECL: Minister for information
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Thursday announced that the federal cabinet has decided to place on the exit control list (ECL) all 172 suspects named in a joint investigation team's report in the fake bank accounts case.

"I was watching Asif Ali Zardari say that he does not take the JIT seriously," recalled the minister. "Hopefully, he will take it seriously after today. In the upcoming days he will know the seriousness of this inquiry.

"This is not Purana Pakistan where the two big [players] make a deal. Now, each and every penny will be accounted for."

Chaudhry explained that the decision was taken because "this money belongs to the people of Pakistan."

The information minister, who was briefing the media following a cabinet meeting, also discussed the recent spate of killings in Karachi.

"The situation has deteriorated suddenly," the minister said. "The death of Ali Raza Abidi shows that some gangs have become active again. Karachi's peace is linked with Pakistan's economy so we will never allow Karachi's peace to be sabotaged like this again."

"We have seen Altaf Hussain's provocation and orders from England to commit murders here. His hate speech then went viral on social media. The UK authorities have not taken any action yet. The cabinet is concerned about this. These issues will be raised with the British government.

"There are South African gangs active in Karachi. It's very important that these gangs are squeezed there where they are being operated from. The Foreign Office has been directed to take up this matter with the South African government as well.

Furthermore, Chaudhry said that the government has decided to extended till January 15 the deadline for imported mobile phones' registration.

"After January 15, phones would still be registered but for the payment of 10 per cent of the phone's custom duty," he said.

The information minister said that the cabinet has approved the tabling of a constitutional amendment bill that would seek an extra reserved seat for women from Islamabad in both the National Assembly and Senate.

Chaudhry said that the prime minister also commended Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood for his part in the planned conversion of the PM House into a university.

"In the first phase, the the PM House's name will be Darul Hikma," he said, adding that the place will be used for research.

"In the long run we will convert it into a university."

The information minister said that the regulatory duty on newsprint is being slashed to just one per cent, and hoped that the benefit of the measure would be felt by working journalists.

A summary to float bonds in Chinese market was also approved by the cabinet, Chaudhry said, adding that "it will be the the first time in the history of Pakistan that we will enter the Chinese market."

He also confirmed that Farrukh Sabzwari has been appointed the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).




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