A parliamentary panel Monday proposed major amendments in the Exit Control List (ECL) by recommending that nobody should be placed on the ECL during the inquiry and investigation processes. The Senate Standing Committee on Interior met here with Rehman Malik in the chair where the Ministry of Interior briefed the committee about the ECL policy and discussed it in detail to identify lacunas in the current policy.
The committee recommended major amendments in the current ECL policy by recommending that word 'Competent Authority' should be substituted with word 'Federal Secretary, Ministry of Interior,' adding that nobody should be placed on the ECL during the inquiry and no one should be included in the ECL during investigation unless ordered by the trial court and Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Malik said that the ECL is being used as a tool of punishment and bringing bad name to the person if placed once on the ECL and being considered as hardcore criminal in society.
Senator Javed Abbasi said that there is need to revisit the existing ECL policy and stop its use as a revenge tool. Senator Muhammad Ateeq Shaikh said that the people are facing issues as they are not informed that their names are being put on the ECL. In most of the cases when the people reach the airport, they are stopped there and informed that their names are on the ECL, creating embarrassment and panic for them especially when they are going for some business and other meetings outside the country, Shaikh added.
Malik said that the Constitution of Pakistan ensures the fundamental human rights and freedom of movement to every citizen, adding that restricting anyone's movement without serious crime is a violation of the law. He said that one must not be placed on the ECL only for the reason that an inquiry is initiated against him until one is proven either guilty or the court has not ordered to place his name on the ECL or one is involved in espionage, terrorism or anti-state activities. He said that the competent authority is the federal government and Supreme Court has given verdict that the Federal Government means "the whole cabinet." He said that the way names of the accused persons are placed on the ECL is not appropriate and the committee will take the opinion of all the stakeholders in this regard. He said that the committee's main concern is to make the ECL policy very clear as how to put/remove the names on/from the list to facilitate the public.
He said that the influential people used to get their names removed from the ECL and the poor is victim of this discriminatory policy, adding, "We have to amend the present policy of ECL." He asked that all those names which have been included in the ECL during the last three years with no decision from any court may be removed from the ECL with immediate effect. Malik questioned the Ministry of Interior about the law and procedure under which any investigative agency asks for putting anyone's name on the ECL. The secretary interior said that referred cases from the agencies are reviewed by the home committee and then are referred to the federal cabinet for final actions. The matter is referred to the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice.
The committee was also briefed by Chairman Capital Development Authority (CDA) Afzal Latif on the organisational structure, functions, working of CDA and attached departments. He said that the CDA had been established in 1960, master plan had also been developed in the same year and the CDA consists of five zones. He said that in 2015 Municipal Corporation Islamabad (MCI) was established by the federal government so many of the CDA departments were shifted to the MCI and CDA was having 18,770 workers at that time, but now 10,425 workers have been transferred to MCI, but their pays are still paid by the CDA.
He informed the committee that the MCI have collected almost Rs 1 billion funds, but is not able to utilise it due to lack of procedure. The CDA is providing them the funds as payable loans under the instructions of government. He briefed that many issues are between CDA and MCI due to lack of coordination and clarity in the implementation polices.
Malik inquired about the issues related to establishment of the private housing societies in Islamabad and implementation of the by-laws in rural areas of the capital. The member CDA informed the committee that nearly 41 housing societies took the NOCs from CDA but when they examined their layout plans, some of them were cancelled. The by-laws are not implemented by the housing societies and it is violation of the master plan, he said.
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