RAWALPINDI: The Federal Investigation Agency stopped former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani from boarding an Italy-bound flight on Wednesday since his name appeared on the Exit Control List (ECL).

According to an immigration official at the New Islamabad International Airport, Mr Gilani’s protocol team arrived at the airport with his passport in the morning and informed the staff he intended to visit Italy to attend a conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

The immigration officials went through the data and informed Mr Gilani’s assistants that since his name was still on the stop list, he cannot be allowed to board the Qatar Airways flight for Rome.

Yousuf Raza Gilani, Leader of the Opposition in Senate, did not come to the airport. He was slated to lead Pakistan’s delegation to the IPU. The other members of the delegation — five legislators each from the two houses of parliament — left for Rome.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said in reply to a question at a media briefing that the former premier could approach the interior ministry or a court of law over the matter.

PPP deplores move

The Pakistan Peoples Party protested against the move to stop Yousuf Raza Gilani from going abroad.

Senator Sherry Rehman said in a statement it was unfortunate that “convicts are being allowed to leave the country, but PPP leaders face restrictions”.

She further said “some people who are undergoing trial in courts, are being allowed to leave the country after getting their names removed”, but there seemed to be a separate law at work for ‘jayalas’ (PPP activists).

“There are not one but two systems in the country,” Sherry Rehman observed. “If a former prime minister can leave the country despite being named in ECL, why can’t others.”

Nayyar Bukhari, the party’s secretary general, said the decision to stop Yousuf Raza Gilani from going abroad amounted to insulting the parliamentary delegation.

“The people know how many individuals have been allowed to go abroad even though their names appear on ECL,” Mr Bukhari said.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2021