Babar Awan
In a further relief for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued a directive on Friday to the interior ministry, instructing the removal of the former ruling party’s lawyer, Babar Awan, from the Exit Control List (ECL).
Earlier in the week, the IHC had suspended the sentence of PTI founder Imran Khan and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, in the Toshakhana case.
Babar Awan’s name had been placed on the ECL by the government due to his alleged involvement in the £190 million settlement case, as a member of the Al-Qadir Trust.
During the court proceedings, Islamabad High Court Bar President Riasat Ali Azad, representing Awan, informed the court that his client’s inclusion on the no-fly list was related to an inquiry concerning the trust.
Azad argued that when the reference was filed, Awan’s name was not among the accused listed. He requested the court to remove Awan’s name from the exit control list as he had only been named in the reference.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz ordered the relevant authority to remove Awan’s name from the ECL.
In another case, an IHC bench led by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq ordered the director general of the interior ministry’s immigration and passport department to renew the passport of PTI-backed MNA Makhdoom Zain Hussain Qureshi, the son of PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
The court sought a response from the ministry by April 29 regarding Qureshi’s plea seeking removal from the no-fly list and passport renewal.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the failure to comply with the court’s orders, IHC Judge Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan issued arrest warrants for the secretary of the interior ministry for not removing Sami Ibrahim’s name from the no-fly list.
Ibrahim, a journalist, had petitioned the court, and despite its orders, his name remained on the list.
The judge warned of initiating contempt of court proceedings if a satisfactory response was not provided. Bailable arrest warrants were issued for the interior ministry secretary, with orders to produce the officer by 2:30 pm.
However, the director general eventually informed the court that Ibrahim’s name had not been added to the ECL as per court orders, but later, the police requested his inclusion on the no-fly list.
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