People can be placed on ECL without court cases: law minister

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Law and Justice Barrister Dr Farogh Naseem on Friday said that names of suspects can be included in the Exit Control List (ECL) without court cases and the Interior Ministry and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) have the discretionary power to add names of individuals to the no-fly list.

Speaking to the media, Naseem said, “Interior Ministry or NAB recommends placing names on ECL when they suspect that those individuals will not return to the country.” “The Interior Ministry and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) will present the list of suspects whose names have been placed on ECL before the Supreme Court,” he added.

The federal law minister said, “After the JIT report has come forward, there should be no compromise for suspects. They do, however, have the right to defend themselves.”

Regarding bigwigs being placed on ECL, Naseem said, “The media is independent and this is such a big news that it will be out in the open. Everyone should be respected but the process of accountability should continue.”

In response to a question, Naseem said, “Khawaja Asif’s name was not under consideration during the cabinet meeting. The government will take measures through which the law and Constitution is implemented.”

Naseem further said, “If evidence is found against government representatives, then they will also be placed on the ECL.”