IHC strikes Zulfi Bukhari off ECL

ISLAMABAD: A division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday ordered the removal of Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL).

The bench, comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, announced its verdict on Bukhari’s petition seeking removal of his name from the ECL. Earlier on December 4, the Islamabad High Court had reserved its verdict on the petition.

Bukhari alias Zulfi Bukhari was placed on the ECL by the Ministry of Interior at the request of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in August 2018. The NAB had stated investigations against him after his name appeared in the Panama Papers. He owns six offshore companies.

He was put off the ECL when he was travelling for Umrah with Prime Minister Imran Khan in January 2018. In his petition, Bukhari stated that he was a British citizen of Pakistani origin and was currently living in Islamabad, while his spouse and children were domiciled in the UK where his business interests were managed from. The petitioner stated that he had been cooperating with the bureau in connection with an inquiry against him but his name was placed on the ECL.