Imran Khan, wife barred from travelling abroad
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, are among the dozens of party leaders and activists who have been recently added to the no-fly list.
These names have been placed on the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL) — a controversial substitute for the Exit Control List, better known as ECL, reports Dawn.
According to sources, the initiative was taken at the request of different institutions of federal and provincial governments, including the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the police.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Multiple Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, the party led by Imran Khan, and former lawmakers and workers have been placed on the list due to their alleged involvement in the 9 May riots that erupted after Khan's arrest, official sources said.
Prominent PTI leaders placed on the no-fly list included Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry, Maleeka Bokhari, Qasim Suri, Asad Qaiser, Murad Saeed, Hammad Azhar, Dr Yasmin Rashid and Mian Aslam Iqbal, says Dawn.
In the wake of a recent police crackdown, several PTI leaders had tried to fly abroad but they had been stopped on orders of the relevant authorities. Since the riots, thousands of party workers and leaders have been arrested which have led many to quit the party in fear of getting arrested. According to earlier reports, some have gone into hiding as well.
On Tuesday, approximately 700 names of PTI leaders were handed to the FIA to prevent them from leaving Pakistan for a month.
A day later, on Wednesday, the Rawalpindi district police asked the federal government to place the names of 245 PTI activists, who are in custody of the FIA, on the PNIL.
