SC orders placing two PML-N MPs on ECL

LAHORE: The Supreme Court (SC) on Saturday directed the interior ministry to place the names of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Member National Assembly (MNA) Afzal Khokhar and his brother Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) Saiful Mulook Khokhar on the Exit Control List (ECL).

The directive was made as a two-member SC bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, was hearing a suo motu notice on the complaints by overseas Pakistanis regarding 22 encroachments on the land, owned by LDA in different parts of Lahore. The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and Punjab Police were also directed to set up a complaint center to investigate the claims made against Khokhars.

In addition, Afzal and Mulook were ordered to submit details of the assets registered under their own and the names of their families. While the directive to place the names on the ECL was made verbally, they were not mentioned in the formal orders. The duo was summoned at the apex court’s Lahore Registry earlier in the day. “It’s better that you relinquish the estate of widows and overseas Pakistanis you have seized,” CJP Saqib Nisar warned. “We are getting numerous complaints against you,” he added. At one point, the chief justice pulled out his phone and mentioned the complaints he had been receiving. “We have not grabbed anyone’s land,” Saiful Mulook informed the bench in response. “If grabbing is proved, I will not spare you,” the top judge remarked. “Everyone knows that I do what I say. It’s better, therefore, that you don’t take the risk of losing your MNA-ship.”

The CJP warned the duo to either relinquish the possession of grabbed lands or get ready to face the action taken against Mansha ‘Bomb’, another land grabber in Lahore, who’s currently in jail. The Chief Justice Nisar asked the siblings to explain their relationship with a property dealer named Ashraf Shah. However, the duo denied any knowledge of the man. The chief justice instructed the LDA and police to compile and furnish a report on Khokhar brothers' alleged capture of land. The hearing was adjourned till Dec 22.