Zulfi Bukhari appeals IHC to remove name from ECL

ISLAMABAD: Syed Zulfiqar Bukhari aka Zulfi Bukhari, a close aide of Prime Minister Imran Khan, on Monday requested the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to invalidate the order that placed him on the Exit Control List (ECL), ARY News reported.

In a plea he filed through his lawyer, Mr. Bukhari said his fundamental rights were being affected due to travel ban.

His lawyer told the court that Mr. Zulfi Bukhari was prime minister’s special assistant on overseas Pakistanis and human resource development. Bukhari was put on the ECL on Aug 4, his lawyer said.

Justice Amir Farooq, who is the part of the bench, remarked: “This is the court and not the talk show…keep your demeanor in check.”

He asked the lawyer to avoid using strong language, “otherwise we won’t hear the case.”

https://arynews.tv/en/zulfi-bukhari-name-placed-ecl/

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani said Bukhari was called by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) four times, and he was permitted to travel abroad for once on decision of the NAB chairman. “Who’d have been responsible had Mr. Bukhari avoided coming back home,” asked Justice Kiyani.

The court sought the order of the NAB that allowed Zulfi Bukhari to travel abroad. The IHC bench adjourned the hearing till December 4.

The IHC, in its order in August 2018, discussed the concept of placing a citizen on the blacklist in detail and observed that since NAB was investigating Bukhari on allegations of owning offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands, therefore his name can be placed on the ECL.

Zufli Bukhari was appointed the prime minister’s special assistant on overseas Pakistanis and human resource development on September 18.

At the time of his appointment, Bukhari was being investigated by the National Accountability Bureau in connection with establishing offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf supporter, Bukhari, was recently embroiled in a controversy when he was stopped from flying to Saudi Arabia with the PTI chief only to be granted a one-time permission later to perform Umrah and return in six days. Afterwards, Bukhari was placed on the Exit Control List.

The PM’s assistant then approached the Islamabad High Court seeking removal of his name from the ECL.