ECL should not be used as political instrument, says Ahsan

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Saturday asked to not use Exit Control List (ECL) as political instrument. Lashing out at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan and Awami Muslim League (AML) Chairman Sheikh Rashid, the minister said that the people of Pakistan have rejected their politics.

He said the whole world expressed shock over the disqualification of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in PanamaLeaks case.

Highlighting the role and sacrifices made by Pakistan on the fight against terrorism, Ahsan Iqbal called upon Norway’s support at the upcoming meeting of the Financial Action Task Force in Paris. He said that any move to place Pakistan in the "grey list" by the international community will be counter-productive and undermine the extensive work that Pakistan has carried out under National Action Plan to thwart terrorism.

Earlier, he interacted with a large number of Pakistani-Norwegians at an event organised by Pakistan Embassy in Oslo. Talking to them, the minister said Pakistan is ranked among the fastest emerging economies in Asia. He said the country has become one of the top five economies in the world which have shown the highest growth rate in the last five years.

The minister said major infrastructure projects related to CPEC are being completed in line with the policy of economic integration of the region.

Earlier addressing a function in Lahore Ahsan Iqbal said that they have made Pakistan a peaceful and safe country.

He said that when they took over the reign of the country the world dubbed Pakistan as the nation living in Stone Age and was facing a lot of problems. The country was also facing crises including the shortage of gas and electricity, he added.

He said their government has controlled every crisis with hard work and devotion and started the CPEC. He further said now China is the biggest investor in our country.

Ahsan Iqbal said that in 2013 terrorism was at its climax. He said our government started war against terrorism and eradicated the menace of terrorism.