Pak govt to send list of 172 persons on ECL to review committee

The Pakistan government Wednesday decided to send a no-fly list of 172 people, including former president Asif Ali Zardari, to a review committee following a directive by the Supreme Court.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told reporters here after a meeting of the federal Cabinet that the move was in accordance with orders of the Supreme Court.

The apex court directed the Cabinet on Monday to reconsider its "hasty decision" of placing the names of 172 people, including Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, on the no-fly list.

It castigated the Exit Control List (ECL) of the 172 persons who appeared in a report compiled by the joint investigation team (JIT) probing the fake accounts case.

Chaudhry said the Cabinet decided to follow the orders of the Supreme Court and the list of the 172 individuals will be sent to a review committee of Ministry of Interior.

"After looking at the material [submitted by the review committee], it will be decided how this matter goes forward," he said.

Last week, the Cabinet banned all 172 individuals from leaving the country.

Those hit by the ban included Zardari, his son Bilawal, sister Faryal, Sindh Chief Minister Shah and several others politicians, businessmen and bureaucrats.

Chaudhry said the Cabinet took the decision to put all 172 on the ECL in the light of the recommendations of the JIT.

The minister said influential people often fly out of the country when asked to face corruption cases.

He alleged that former finance minister Ishaq Dar went to London last year and refused to come back to face a corruption case.