ECL policy: Senate body for giving powers to interior secretary

ISLAMABAD: The Senate’s Committee on Interior on Monday proposed to the government for amending the present policy on Exit Control List and asked the Ministry of Interior that all those names which have been included in the ECL for the last three years with no decision from any court may be removed from the ECL with immediate effect.

“The Committee’s main concern is to make the ECL Policy very clear as to how put and remove the names from the ECL, so we can facilitate the public through parliament as the influential people used to get their names out of the ECL and the poor is victim of this discriminatory policy, so there was a need to have to amend the present policy of the ECL,” said Senate’s committee chairman while chairing a meeting of the committee here on Monday at the Parliament House that was attended by senators Shibli Faraz, Kalsoom Parveen, Muhammad Javed Abbasi, Kauda Baber and Muhammad Ateeq Shaikh

The Senate’s Committee on Interior Chairman Rehman Malik said that the committee proposes that the words “competent authority” should be substituted with words “Federal Secretary, Ministry of Interior”, no-body should be placed on the ECL during the enquiry and no one should be included in the ECL during investigation unless ordered by the Trial Court and SC.

The Senate’s committee was briefed by the Ministry of Interior on the ECL Policy of the government and discussed it in detail with identifying all the lacunas in the current policy.

He said that one must not be placed on ECL merely for the reason that an inquiry is initiated against him until one is not proven either guilty or court has not ordered to place one name on ECL. He said that the way names of accused persons are placed on the ECL is not appropriate and the Committee will take opinion of all the stakeholders on it. He asked that all those names which have been included in the ECL for the last three years with no decision from any Court may be removed from the ECL with immediate effect.

Senator Javed Abbassi said this use was raised twice that the names of people were still in the ECL for last many years but not deleted. “There should be time limit for keeping the names in the ECL,” he said. Senator Kalsoom Parveen said the ECL law was being used for the political victimisation.

Senator Atiq Sheikh said there was no mechanism for informing those whose names were placed in the ECL and they get to know about their names were placed on ECL or Watch List when they reached airport. The Ministry of Interior secretary said there were many loopholes in the policy of the ECL and there was need to amend it, and it was also in the agenda of the government Senator Rehman Malik questioned the Ministry of Interior about the law and procedure under which any investigative agency asks for putting anyone’s name on ECL.