PML-N-led federal government unwilling to put Dar on ECL

ISLAMABAD: The federal government is reluctant to put former finance minister Ishaq Dar’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL).

According to a private media outlet’s report on Saturday, the PML-N-led government is dawdling to include Dar’s name to the list even though the National Accountancy Bureau (NAB) has once again approached the ministry of the interior while highlighting the reasons behind its request to do so.

The NAB had requested the interior ministry to add the former minister’s name to the ECL in November last year, but regardless of the passage of a considerable amount of time the matter was not addressed.

In October 2017, after attending the 16th Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Ministerial Conference in Dushanbe, Dar had travelled to Jeddah, where he allegedly fell ill in and subsequently had to go to London for medical treatment.

Undergoing treatment abroad, the former minister is currently facing charges of accumulating wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.

NAB REFERENCE

In its reference against the former finance minister, NAB alleged that “the accused has acquired assets and pecuniary interests/resources in his own name and/or in the name of his dependents of an approximate amount of Rs831.678 million (approx)”.

The reference alleged that the assets were “disproportionate to his known sources of income for which he could not reasonably account for”.

The court has declared him a proclaimed offender over his perpetual absence from the trial proceedings and attached his movable and immovable properties.

In November 2017, the government withdrew the portfolio of finance minister of Dar.