New Delhi: Pakistan's new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who had been on a no-fly list for a year, has now been removed from the list, it has emerged.
News agency PTI reported that the new government led by him has removed the names of Sharif and several other high-profile personalities from the Exit Control List (ECL), which deals with people who are not allowed to leave the country for various reasons.
Accoring to the report, the first cabinet meeting of the new government last week had authorised Pakistan's Ministry of Interior to review the ECL. The interior ministry, headed by Rana Sanaullah, then started issuing notifications to remove those names from the ECL that had been on it for 120 days "without any compelling reason", the report said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, his wife Nusrat Shehbaz, his niece Maryam Nawaz, former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, his son Abdullah Khaqan and Finance Minister Miftah Ismail can now move out of Pakistan without any hindrance.
Quoting Sanaullah, the report said these names were put on the ECL by the previous government for political revenge.
As many as 4,863 people are on the ECL blacklist, and there are 30,000 people in the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL), according to the report. The new orders take nearly 3,500 people off the no-fly list.
"Yes, the ECL rules have been amended which will directly benefit 3,500 people,” the minister was quoted as saying.
Why Was Shehbaz Sharif Put On No-Fly List?
In Pakistan, different categories of people, including those who face corruption cases, are banned from leaving the country for various reasons. There have been allegations that governments use these lists to silence opposition.
According to a Dawn report, Shehbaz Sharif, who was then an opposition leader in the National Assembly, was put on the Exit Control List (ECL) on May 14, 2021, following a request to the effect by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
A notification issued by the interior ministry had said the federal cabinet gave its nod for inclusion of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader’s name in ECL on the recommendation of a cabinet sub-committee, Dawn reported last year.
Quoting the notification, the report said: “[With] NAB reference bearing ACR No.22/2020 having been finalised, the trial thereof is in progress. However, the exit of Mian Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif from Pakistan will delay proceedings in the trial.”
The interior ministry had said the case against the former opposition leader and ex-PM Nawaz Sharif's bother involved a sum of over 7 billion Pakistani rupees.
It also said Sharif might tamper with evidence or dispose of his assets in the United Kingdom, where other Sharif family members and co-accused in the NAB reference were residing, if allowed to go abroad.
“Therefore, like his brother, if Shehbaz Sharif absconds, his extradition from the UK will not be possible,” the notification had said.
It was reported earlier that month that Sharif was not allowed to fly to the UK, via Qatar, from the Lahore airport the country's Federal Investigation Authority allegedly recommended that he be prevented from leaving the country.