Zardari, Bilawal, Murad: SC orders removal of names from ECL for the time being

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the government that the names of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Asif Ali Zardari and Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah be removed from the Exit Control List (ECL) for the time being. The court, however, clarified that this would not prevent the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from probing their cases further and in case sufficient material is found connecting the said persons with cognizable offences, it shall not be precluded from making an appropriate request to the federal government to place their names on the ECL or take any appropriate action provided by law.
The names of Farooq H Naik, his son, Anwar Mansoor Khan, ASC/AGP, and his brother also feature in the report of the JIT. The court directed that their cases may also be re-examined by NAB in light of material collected by the JIT. In case, no cognizable offence is made out, their names may be removed from the report/ECL. Till such time that NAB concludes its inquiry / investigation, no adverse action of any nature shall be taken against the said persons.
The court ordered that the complete report of the JIT along with all material and evidence collected by the JIT shall be transmitted to NAB immediately.
All members of the JIT shall be associated with NAB for the purposes of assisting in any further probe, inquiry or investigation that NAB may consider necessary or appropriate in order to satisfy itself about the fulfillment of legal and procedural requirements and to complete the investigation in its entirety.
All cases which have not been concluded or in the opinion of the JIT require further probe shall remain within the jurisdiction of the JIT which shall continue its probe and investigation under the mandate granted by this court and complete such investigation/probe within a reasonable time whereafter its report together with all material and evidence collected shall be transmitted to NAB without the need for any further orders from this court for action in accordance with law.
"We are cognizant of the fact that during the course of its probe and investigation, the JIT has discovered that funds deposited in fake accounts and circulated through the same have been used for other unlawful activities which may not have strictly fallen within the parameters of the mandate granted by this Court. However, considering that all such transactions, activities, acts and omissions constitute a part of or arise out of the same set of events and transactions which have a direct, indirect or incidental nexus to questionable funds and their movement, we endorse the acts of the JIT in probing these matters and it will be deemed that the original mandate of the JIT as granted in the original order of this Court included within its scope and parameters a direction to probe such other activities, acts and or transactions which are hereby fully ratified."
"NAB is directed that if it considers expedient and appropriate to conduct any further or additional probe, inquiry or investigation involving the matters which are the subject of the report of the JIT from a point of view of determining the true facts, it shall be free to do so at Islamabad. However, such probe, inquiry or investigation shall be completed within a maximum period of two months. Thereafter, in case, cognizable offences are made out, the recommendations contained in paragraph 300 at page 124 of the Final (Synthesis) Report shall be acted upon and the requisite reference shall be filed in the concerned Accountability Court.
"We also direct that in view of the fact that the entire record of the JIT is to be submitted with NAB at Islamabad and further inquiry (if any) is also to be conducted there, the reference shall be prepared and presented before the Accountability Courts at Islamabad/Rawalpindi.
"We further direct that the Chairman NAB shall designate a competent director general NAB who shall ensure preparation and filing of references in a timely manner and follow them up till their final conclusions. Further, a team of competent and experienced investigators and prosecutors shall be constituted to prepare and prosecute the references and take them to their final conclusions. The NAB shall file periodic reports before this court which shall be placed before an Implementation bench to be constituted by the chief justice for the said purpose," said the order. The case was disposed of.