IHC takes up two petitions about Zulfi Bukhari’s ECL issue

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will here on Thursday (today) take up two petitions together--one, where Zulfi Bukhari has challenged his name being put on the exit control list (ECL), and the other where a petitioner has challenged Zulfi’s name removal from the ECL within an hour when he went to perform Umrah accompanying Imran Khan.

On Wednesday, Justice Aamer Farooq of the IHC took up the second mentioned petition filed by Muhammad Kausar, a resident of Talagang, through his counsel Inamul Rahiem.

The IHC bench issued notices to Zulfi while a section officer of the Ministry of Interior is already been issued notices, and he has to appear before the court today (Thursday).

Petitioner Muhammad Kausar has cited the Federation of Pakistan, through the Ministry of Defence secretary, Interior secretary and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)’s director general (DG) as respondents.

The petitioner has raised questions before the IHC that whether the name of a person placed on the ECL on orders of the apex court could be removed by any subordinate officer of the FIA, and whether the defence secretary is empowered to allow any civilian to use military base for landing and taking off a private aircraft without security clearance from apparatus of state secret agencies, especially, when the name of that individual is already on the ECL.

The petitioner narrated details that on June 11, Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari alias Zulfi Bukhari accompanied the PTI Chairman Imran Khan on his way to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah. Bukhari’s name was on ECL along with other owners of offshore companies in line with the order of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in connection with its probe into the Panama scandal. Therefore, he was stopped by immigration authorities at Nur Khan Airbase. PTI chief Imran Khan allegedly used his influence with the caretaker government to remove Bukhari’s name from the ECL. The process of removal was so expeditious that Bukhari, within one hour, left for Saudi Arabia on a special chartered plane. The Ministry of Interior, in this regard, issued a letter granting, one-time “permission” to Bukhari for six days.

According to the petitioner, a proper procedure was not followed which requires clearance from the cabinet’s subcommittee that deals with the ECL cases. The petitioner said that it has also been alleged that Bukhari’s name was removed on the intervention of interim Interior Minister Azam Khan, who is closely linked to the PTI Chairman, Imran Khan. The interior minister is a member of the Imran Khan Foundation (IKF) Board--a charity and welfare organisation.

The petitioner contended that special arrangements were made for the PTI chairman to use the Air Force base to fly his chartered plane from. The use of a military base for private visit was against the rules, and such facility is not extended to any other citizen or the head of any other political party. The petitioner contended that the caretaker setup’s extending undue favours to the chairman of a party has lost its impartiality.

The petitioner has prayed to the court that the matter may be investigated by the FIA DG that on whose orders and directions the name of Bukhari was removed from the ECL and under what authority of law Nur Khan Airbase, reserved for defence purposes was used for facilitating the departure of a private person through his private plane.