Cabinet decides not to remove names from ECL forthwith: sources

KARACHI: The federal cabinet in a meeting on Wednesday reviewed the list of 172 people recently added to the Exit Control List (ECL) in connection to money laundering case and decided not to remove the names from the list forthwith, sources said.

The cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan discussed the issue and decided that no name will be removed from the ECL immediately and each name in the list will be reviewed gradually and the decision of removal of a name from the list or not, will be taken accordingly.

Minister of State for Interior Sheharyar Afridi and the legal experts briefed the cabinet members on the issue.

The list included the names of former president Asif Ali Zardari, Faryal Taplur, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah and businessmen allied with the Pakistan People’s Party.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court directed the federal cabinet to review its decision of placing 172 people on the ECL in the fake bank accounts case.

A two-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, ordered the federal government to revisit its decision of placing 172 persons on the no exit list.