PPP terms cabinet decision ‘contempt of court’

ISLAMABAD: The PPP on Thursday termed the refusal of the PTI government to remove the names of the party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah from the Exit Control List (ECL) as contempt of court.

The PPP Secretary Information, Dr Nafeesa Shah, said in a statement that the government was using accountability and ECL as political tools against the opposition. She said the failure of the government to comply with the Supreme Court orders exposed Muhammad Ishtiaq heard the case against Dr Arbab Alamgir and Asma Alamgir on Thursday and indicted them after the respondents concluded their arguments. The court summoned four witnesses on January 24.

Speaking to the media after the hearing, Dr Arbab Alamgir said, “Our properties belong to our ancestors and have been in the family for the past 200 years. I also informed the NAB about the properties that are not in my name,” he said.

Asma Alamgir, while talking to the media, termed NAB “a joke” and said, “A reference was filed against us but not against former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Pervaiz Khattak.” Demanding that Khattak’s name be placed on the Exit Control List (ECL), Asma said, “The references that have been filed against us are incorrect as we pay taxes.”