Strike Bilawal, Murad off ECL: SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court in a written order on Wednesday stated that the names of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah should be removed from the Exit Control List (ECL). The SC judge Justice Ijazul Ahsen wrote the 24-page detailed verdict in the fake accounts case in which the court ordered the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to send all the evidence and relevant material to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The verdict stated that the JIT will assist the NAB in the investigation and submit report to the court within 15 days.

The order stated that if concrete evidence is found against the PPP chairman and Sindh CM, then their names can be added to the ECL. The court mentioned that the NAB will thoroughly probe the material and if there is no case to be constituted, it will remove the names from the ECL.

“As far as the recommendations to Mr Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Co-chairman, PPP and Mr Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister, Sindh are concerned, the learned counsel for the JIT has frankly conceded that the material against the said persons may need re-examination to arrive at the correct conclusions,” the judgment reads.

“Further their names may have been included in the list of persons who have been recommended to be placed on ECL, without careful examination of the material available on record and the ramifications and consequences of such orders for the said persons," it said. The apex court said that placing the names of Sindh chief minister on ECL would cause serious problems in performing official duty.

"In this regard, it has been pointed out that Mr Murad Ali Shah is the Chief Minister, Sindh. It would cause serious problems in performance of his official functions in case his name is placed on the ECL and his movements are restricted. We accordingly direct the names of the said persons for the time being be removed from the ECL,” said the order.

The court was the view that a case for referring the report of the JIT, along with relevant documents, evidence, statements and the recommendations of the JIT be handed to NAB for initiating proceedings under the NAB Ordinance 1999.

On January 07, the Supreme Court had ordered the NAB to initiate a fresh inquiry into the mega money laundering and fake bank accounts case. The apex court ordered NAB to investigate the case in light of a report recently submitted by the JIT probing the matter, and to complete its investigation within two months.

"The NAB can probe Bilawal and CM Shah independently. If after the investigation a reference can be formed, then it should be filed,” Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar observed.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is investigating 32 people in relation to money laundering from fictitious accounts, including Asif Ali Zardari and Faryal Talpur. Zardari’s close aide Hussain Lawai was arrested in July in connection with the probe. The former president’s other close aide and Omni Group chairman Anwar Majeed and his son Abdul Ghani were arrested by FIA in August.