PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Wednesday directed the government to remove from the Exit Control List the name of a former budget officer of the police department, Jawed Khan, facing trial in a high-profile weapons procurement corruption case.

Justice Ikramullah Khan and Justice Lal Jan Khattak accepted a petition filed by Jawed Khan, who has been accused of receiving kickbacks from a private contractor, and declared illegal an interior ministry’s memorandum issued interior in 2013 through which his name was placed on the ECL.

During the course of proceedings, the high-profile cases of retired general Pervez Musharraf, supermodel Ayan Ali and PPP leader Dr Asim Hussain also echoed as lawyer for the petitionerShumail Ahmad Butt contended that they were charged in much heinous crimes but even then, their names were removed from the ECL.

Declares interior ministry’s memo in this respect illegal

The petitioner has presently been facing trial before an accountability court along with a former provincial police officer Malik Naveed Khan. Jawed Khan was taken into custody by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Feb 21, 2013, and was granted bail by the high court in Nov 2016.

In the weapons scam, the NAB has claimed that over Rs7 billion was released by the government for the procurement of weapons, vehicles and equipment to maintain law and order in the province and that the accused including the petitioner had received Rs2.03 billion kickbacks while awarding lucrative contracts to contractor Arshad Majeed, who later turned approver.

Shumail Butt said retired general Musharraf had been facing charges of high treason but even then, his name was removed from the ECL prompting to go abroad.

He added that supermodel Ayan Ali and Dr Asim Hussain’s names were also removed from the ECL. The lawyer said the petitioner was granted bail by the high court and against that bail, he had submitted two surety bonds of Rs50 million each.

He added that the petitioner wanted to go abroad to perform Haj. The lawyer said in the impugned memorandum of the ministry of interior no proper reason was given for placing the name of the petitioner on ECL.

He cited several judgments of the superior courts in support of his contention arguing that the Supreme Court had ruled that the government should give genuine reason while issuing a memorandum.

The NAB’s prosecutor said the petitioner was charged in a case of massive corruption and was facing trial.

He said until the final decision in the case, the petitioner shouldn’t be allowed to go abroad. He said the name of the petitioner was placed on the ECL on the recommendation of the NAB.

ARREST WARRANTS ISSUED: A bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Mohammad Younas Taheem issued arrest warrants of additional chief secretary (ACS), Fata Secretariat, Fida Wazir, for the non-compliance of an earlier order of the court regarding payment of salaries to some employees of the Municipal Committee Parachinar, Kurram Agency.

Additional advocate general Mohiuddin Humayun and official of Fata Secretariat requested the court not to issue his arrest warrants as he had sent letter to the relevant political agent for releasing salaries to the said employees.

The bench observed how it was possible that the ACS had issued orders to a political agent and he had not been implementing it.

Mohammad Asif, lawyer for the petitioners Mehtab Hussain and nine others, said in 2010, his client’s salaries were stopped after the abolition of the octroi system in the agency.

He said in March 2015, the high court had accepted their petition and had ordered the administration to pay their salaries. The lawyer however said despite passage of over two years, the petitioners was still awaiting the payment of their salaries.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2017