Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday regretted that the government had shown ‘haste’ in placing the names of 172 people named in an investigation report in a case pertaining to fake accounts on the exit control list (ECL).
“We showed haste in placing the names on the ECL,” the foreign minister said in his speech in the National Assembly. “The government does not want to do anything in a rush now,” he added.
During the session, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) demanded that the government remove name of Bilawal Bhutto from exit control list (ECL). But the foreign minister urged the opposition parties to wait till written decision of the Supreme Court. Qureshi clarified that the chief justice had not ordered removal of Bilawal’s name from the ECL but rather he had suggested that the matter should be considered. “The chief justice had said the matter should be considered … this does not mean that we would ignore his recommendations, If Bilawal’s name should not be on the ECL then it should not be on the ECL,” Qureshi asserted. It was decided in the cabinet meeting that the government would wait for a detailed judgment from the Supreme Court, he said, adding that a committee formed by the government was reviewing the matter.
During the session, PPP and PML-N lawmakers suggested the government to call attorney general for discussion on the matter. Addressing the House, PPP’s Naveed Qamar asked why the government didn’t wait for a detailed verdict while putting the names of 172 people on the ECL. “PTI leader Liaquat Jatoi’s name is removed from the ECL within 24 hours. The government is using the ECL for political revenge,” he remarked. He pointed out that Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar was retiring on Jan 17, questioning if the government was waiting for him to leave office.
The foreign minister assured the lawmaker that the government has great respect for the chief justice and his orders will be implemented even after his retirement.
Former prime minister and PPP leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf termed inclusion of Bilawal Bhutto’s name in the ECL a joke. He also recalled that not a single political worker was in jail during the PPP tenure.
PPP MNA Shazia Marri pointed out that the chief justice Saqib had ordered removing the party chairman’s name from the no-fly list on January 7, but even after two cabinet meetings since then, the court instruction had not been followed. “How long will this government commit contempt of court?” she asked.
PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi also backed the PPP, saying if his party believed the government’s motive behind placing Bilawal’s name on the ECL was to serve democracy, it would have supported the move. “Bilawal has never been in the government,” he pointed out. “The government should have removed his name from the ECL to show generosity, without waiting for the written orders.”
Waziristan MNA Mohsin Dawar raised the issue of enforced disappearances in the assembly, saying that a young man, who had allegedly been picked up from North Waziristan, was found dead. “Does the state have the power to provide justice to the family of the murdered man?” he asked.
He regretted that former Malir SSP Rao Anwar – accused of killing four innocent men in a fake encounter – had been ‘set free’ by the court. Mohsin also demanded to know if the joint investigation team formed to probe police officer Tahir Dawar’s brutal murder in November last year had made any progress. He seconded Abbasi’s demand that Bilawal’s name be removed from the ECL, adding that a ‘black list’ was being maintained which had no legal status.
Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari said the government was working on the issue of enforced disappearances and hoped that the opposition will support legislation in this regard. She said Shehryar Afridi, the state minister for interior, should brief the parliament on the developments in Tahir Dawar’s murder investigation, adding, “We also want to know about the progress in investigation.” She agreed that Rao Anwar should be punished for his crimes. “The government should look into this matter; at how he [Anwar] is enjoying privileges,” she stated.
Published in Daily Times, January 17th 2019.
