Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has said that Cabinet’s Sub-Committee on Exit Control List (ECL) has accepted the request of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to place Shahbaz Sharif’s name on the ECL.
Addressing a news conference on Wednesday along with Prime Minister’s Advisor on Interior and Accountability Shahzad Akbar, the interior minister said the sub-committee unanimously recommended placing Shahbaz Sharif’s name on the no-fly list. He added that Federal Law Minister Farogh Naseem participated in the meeting via a video link. He said these recommendations are being sent to the cabinet to take a final decision in this regard.
The minister said that Shahbaz Sharif can file a review petition with the Interior Ministry within 15 days against placement of his name on the ECL, which will decide the matter in 90 days.
He said that Shehbaz’s name is already on the provincial national identification list (PNIL). He said that Shehbaz Sharif himself is a guarantor of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif who is in London after his release from prison on medical grounds. Five members of the Sharif family are absconders, the interior minister added.
“We have not been told of any medical ground on which Shehbaz was leaving the country,” Rashid said of Shehbaz’s attempt of flying from the Lahore airport to the UK via Qatar in the early hours of Saturday.
He was barred from doing so by the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA), a day after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to travel abroad once for medical treatment.
The interior minister also said that PML-N leaders were trying to escape the country only because of reopening the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case. “They chose the time of Sehri to run away knowing that the [Hudaibiya Paper Mills] case was about to be reopened.
Answering a question on release of banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan’s workers, Sheikh Rashid said that 1,677 TLP workers detained under 16-MPO have been released, while 280 FIRs were registered, which have to go through the legal procedure.
Talking about the cases against Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) workers, Sheikh Rashid said that 1,677 have been released by the interior ministry while 280 FIRs have been registered against the others and will undergo legal process, adding that 10,074 TLP activists have been released by the court.
Condemning the attacks by Israel on Palestine, he said that entire Muslim world condemns the atrocities against Palestinians and Kashmiris. He said that no leader has more love for the Holy Prophet (PBUH) than Prime Minister Imran Khan. “Those criticising his Saudi visit will see the big deals and decisions he has made with the Saudi leadership.”
Speaking on the occasion, Shahzad Akbar said Shahbaz Sharif has been facing multiple cases and their proceedings will come to a halt if he is allowed to go abroad. He said Hudaibiya Paper Mills case was closed on technical grounds, but factually it did not come to its logical conclusion. He said any case can be reopened if new evidence appears.
The advisor said that PML-N has become adept in misleading the people by coining a narrative that Shahbaz Sharif has been acquitted in that case.
Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb on Wednesday said Hudaibiya Papers Mills reference was legally dismissed for want of evidence but the PTI government wants to reopen the reference to hide its failures through its campaign of victiizatuon of Shahbz Sharif and Nawaz Sharif.
PML-N spokerson was reacting to the press conference held by Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid earlier on the day, where he disclosed that a subcommittee of the federal cabinet had recommended placing PML-N President and Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif’s name in the Exit Control List (ECL) to prevent him from leaving the country while cases against him were ongoing.
Maryum while blasting the government, said that the government wants to hide its failures since and its false narrative by slandering Nawaz sharif and SHahvaz sharif , since the government is ” only busy in counting the collection of Fitrana, Zakat and rice bags, and is aloof of the fact that it has taken a loan worth Rs.15,000 billion, and has turned economic growth of 5.8pc into a negative 0.4Pc, owing to which the instead of attracting investment the government is attracting charity money.”
She said calling out the names of Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif round the clock will neither fill People’s stomachs nor will we get the answers on Govt’s deal on Kashmir. She went on to question, what has the government achieved by opening up references on Ashiana housing scheme, saaf Pani, Lahore Metro and Assets beyond means, where the government alleged that billions were looted.
Noting that, opening of the Hudaibiya reference is a proof, that nothing has been found in other references, and added that Huadabiya reference has been quashed eight times in the past, despite National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) attempts to open up the cases in several different courts, even after a lag of 11 years. She added that the Supreme court, High courts and NAb courts have all quashed the Hudaibiya reference.
Taking a dig at NAB Chairman, Maryum said that what was previously done by the courts, NAB chairman will do that by exercising an SHO’s authority.
