Govt decides to send names on ECL to review committee

Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Wednesday that the federal government has decided to review names included in the Exit Control List as per the Supreme Court verdict.

The federal minister was addressing a press conference, where he said that the government had decided that the names will be sent to a review committee.

Chaudhry said that the committee will send recommendations on whether letting the names stay on the ECL or not. The recommendations will be discussed in the next session.

“For the progress in Karachi, cannot rely on the Omni group… Sindh’s two thousand billion rupees were spent on Dubai and London” he said. “A committee under the governor Sindh has been formed which will give suggestions on utilising centre’s money in Sindh including Karachi.”

The federal cabinet has decided to add three judges for the Islamabad High Court, he said.

As many as 172 individuals, including prominent politicians, were placed on the no-fly list by the federal government for their alleged role in the long-running mega money laundering and fake bank accounts case.

Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a federal cabinet meeting today during which the government decided against striking down every name on the list immediately. "Those included in the list will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis and after the probe is completed then some names will be removed from the ECL," sources had said.

State Interior Minister Shahryar Khan Afridi and legal experts briefed the prime minister on the case during the cabinet meeting.

On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered the federal government to review its decision to place 172 individuals on ECL.

As per the agenda of the meeting, the prisoner transfer between Pakistan and China, registration of the union council chairman, sale of substandard stents and the formation of a special committee for Karachi transformation were scheduled to be discussed.

A coordination council was also to be formed to curb poverty, members of nursing council were to be appointed and approval was to be accorded for a new management board of Quaid-e-Azam’s mazar during the meeting.

The agenda stated that the cabinet will also accord approval for a $5 million grant for Dubai Expo. Increased defence cooperation between Japan and Pakistan was also on the meeting’s agenda.