ISLAMABAD, Nov 01 (APP): Minister for Law
and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar Friday asked the individuals included in the ECL list to submit a review to the committee, which will make a decision based on merit.
Responding to calling attention notice regarding placing the names of several Members of the National Assembly on the Exit Control List (ECL), Provisional National Identification List (PNIL)
and Passport Control List (PCL), he said that the Cabinet’s sub-committee conducts reviews of names to include or exclude on the ECL in accordance with the 1981 law.
The minister said that names have been removed
from the ECL after individuals filed a review to the committee.
He said that the rate of removal of names
from the ECL list is not less than 65 to 70 per cent among all requests for revision.
He said that the names of individuals declared absconders in criminal cases are added to
the list under relevant legal provisions. Currently, approximately 4,000 names are on the ECL, most of whom are absconders.
The Law Minister said that while there is a right to travel under Art
icle 15 but the same article also clarified that this right is subject to the law.
He said that many members of the opposition during the previous PTI government, who are now on treasury benches were placed in
the list in the ECL at that time.
He requested that the MNAs with inquiries submit their identity card information to the National Assembly Secretariat to verify their names in
the list.
He highlighted the efforts of the Cabinet’s subcommittee, under his convenorship, to ensure transparency
and fairness,
and said that he had previously facilitated the removal of names of former Cabinet members now present in the House.
The minister advocated for a collective effort to overcome traditional political practices, noting that the politics of victimization ended after the Charter of Democracy.
He recalled that, in the past, leaders
and members
from both the PPP
and PML-N had been listed on the ECL or the PNIL by PTI led government.
He explained that when cases are filed, inclusion on the ECL often follows, but names of those granted bail are subsequently removed.
