Supreme Court orders removal of Bilawal, Sindh CM from ECL, JIT report

The Supreme Court (SC) ordered on Monday to take Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's name off the Exit Control List (ECL) as well as from the Joint Investigation Team's (JIT) report in the fake accounts case.

A three-member bench headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar resumed hearing the fake accounts case. The apex court ordered to take off Bilawal's as well as Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah's name from ECL. The CJP also ordered to remove off Bilawal's name from the JIT report, local media reported.

During the hearing, the attorney-general Anwar Mansoor Khan told the bench that the interior ministry had been referred to regarding the placement of 172 names on the ECL. Khan told the SC that progress regarding the names on the ECL is expected till January 10 (Thursday).

Showing his displeasure, the CJP told the Omni Group counsel that there was so much evidence against the group and the court could not turn a blind eye.

The CJP ordered that the case should be sent to the National Accountability Bureau for inquiry. The bench gave two months time to the  bureau to complete its investigation.