Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Finally, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the authorities concerned to remove the name of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and former petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain from the Exit Control List (ECL), allowing him to travel abroad for a month to undergo medical treatment.

A three-judge Supreme Court bench consisting of Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, after hearing the arguments of Latif Khosa, the counsel for Dr Asim, ordered the Federal Investigation Agency, Interior Ministry, Immigration, National Accountability Bureau and other institutions concerned to remove his name from the ECL against a surety of Rs 6 million to be submitted in the trial court.

The court further directed that his name be placed on the ECL once he returned to Pakistan, with the observation that the trail will continue against him in his absence. At the outset of hearing, the court wondered why those accused of corrupt practices tend to suddenly fall sick. “We do not have any record of Dr Asim’s illnesses from the past,” Justice Dost Muhammad Khan said.

Published in Daily Times, August 30^th 2017.