The visibly 'perturbed' opposition members of a parliamentary panel over recent placement of their leaders' names on Exit Control List (ECL) Wednesday sought a briefing from Interior Ministry and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on travel restrictions in the next meeting.
The Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights Procedure led by Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Senator Mustafa Khokar directed secretary interior and DG FIA to explain the procedure adopted to place names of individuals on the ECL in the next meeting.
The directives from the opposition-led committee of Senate came at a time after Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz, the son of Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif, was offloaded from a plane, saying his name is placed on ECL, as he is facing corruption inquiries.
The committee also directed the authorities concerned to brief the committee on all ECL lists maintained openly or secretly which prohibit people from leaving the country without their knowledge of being in the list.
The committee took up the matter of re-tabling the Anti-Torture Bill, which was presented by Senator Farhatullah Babar in 2014 and was passed by the Senate but lapsed due to delay in its passing from the National Assembly.
Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari told the panel that the ministry has done a comparative study of two bills on the issue and the government bill which is currently lying with the Interior Ministry will be soon sent to the Cabinet Committee on Legislation.
Mazari expressed hope that the bill will be presented in National Assembly in its session to be convened next year in January. The committee observed that there should be no further delay in presenting the bill as Pakistan is a signatory to International Anti-Torture Convention and the country should take measures to implement its commitments.
It directed the National Commission on Human Rights, Ministry of Human Rights, Ministry of Law and Justice and Ministry of Interior to sit together and hold consultation on the draft bill on missing persons and present the same before the committee.
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