Plea filed in Pak court to put Imran Khan, his ministers on Exit Control List

The Islamabad High Court will hear on Monday a petition seeking to place the names of Imran Khan, who has been ousted from power after losing a no-confidence vote, and the ministers in his cabinet on the Exit Control List (ECL) to prevent them from flying abroad.

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Khan became the first premier in the country’s history to be voted out of power through a no-confidence motion held early Sunday and vacated the Prime Minister’s official residence minutes before he lost the crucial no-trust vote in the National Assembly.

“The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will hear on Monday an application requesting for placing the names of the former prime minister Imran Khan and ex-ministers on the Exit Control List (ECL),” The News newspaper reported on Sunday.

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The ECL is a system of border control maintained by the Government of Pakistan under the Exit from Pakistan (Control) Ordinance, 1981. The people on the list are prohibited from leaving the country.

The court will also order an investigation into an alleged threat letter, the report said.

Filed by Maulvi Iqbal Haider, the plea seeks a probe into the alleged threat letter and an inquiry against Khan and the ministers.

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It has also requested the IHC to put Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Suri and Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Asad Majeed on the ECL along with Khan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, the report said.

The joint Opposition’s no-confidence motion, which required 172 votes in the 342-strong parliament to pass, was supported by 174 lawmakers on Sunday, ending Khan’s prime ministerial term and seemingly bringing an end to the protracted political crisis in Pakistan.

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The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, which ruled for over three-and-a-half years, had been struggling to stay in power as its allies joined hands with the joint Opposition that had been vying for an in-house change.

The much-anticipated vote followed on the heels of the perpetually drawn-out session of the National Assembly punctuated by long adjournments amid high political drama, as well as unverified swirling speculation gripping the nation.