ISLAMABAD, March 28: Just a day after placing the outgoing chairman of the Pakistan International Airlines, Tariq Kirmani, on the Exit Control List (ECL), the government has withdrawn travel restrictions imposed on him.

Sources said that on official instructions sent to the airport immigration cell of the Federal Investigation Agency on late Monday night, Mr Kirmani’s name was included in the ECL. One such source said the directives were also properly entered in a logbook.

Interestingly, on Wednesday morning the name was removed from the ECL.

The sources said that like always no reason was given to the immigration authorities either for placing the name on the ECL or for its removal.

However, the ministry of interior, in a statement, has said that Mr Kirmani’s name was never placed on the ECL, and has described Dawn’s story published on Wednesday as incorrect and baseless.