Interior minister reluctant to put cabinet colleague on ECL

ISLAMABAD: The PML-N-led federal government has been dragging its feet to include former finance minister Ishaq Dar’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL) on the request of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), ARY News reported on Saturday.

Sources said the bureau has once again approached the interior ministry, informing it about the reasons behind its request to have the former minister’s name on the no-fly list.

In November, last year, the NAB requested the Ministry of Interior to put the name of Dar on the ECL, but his name had not been included on the list despite passage of a considerable time.

Ishaq Dar, who undergoing treatment abroad, is facing charges of accumulating wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.

An accountability court in the federal capital has been conducting ex parte trial of the former minister who has been declared as a proclaimed offender over his perpetual absence from the hearing.

So far 19 out of 28 witnesses have testified against Dar in the assets reference.

On Friday, the court recorded testimonies of half a dozen witnesses, who were subsequently cross-examined by his lawyer.

According to the NAB reference, the accused had acquired assets and pecuniary interests/resources in his name or in the name of his dependents of an approximate amount of Rs831.678 million as per the investigation conducted so far.