LAHORE: The federal government on Thursday told the Lahore High Court that former police inspector Abid Boxer, notorious for being an encounter specialist, was not on Exit Control List (ECL).

A law officer submitted a reply on behalf of the government during hearing of a petition filed by the former cop against inclusion of his name in the ECL.

The petitioner through a counsel contended that cases registered against him were politically motivated. However, he said he had been acquitted in all cases by the respective courts.

The petitioner said the interior minister placed him on the ECL at the behest of former chief minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif. He asked the court to order the ministry to remove his name from the no-fly list as he had been acquitted in all cases.

However, Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan disposed of the petition in light of the reply submitted by the government.

During the hearing, the judge also expressed dismay over additional chief secretary home Syed Ali Murtaza for leaving the court before the proceedings. The secretary, however, reappeared before the court on the direction of the judge.

Abid Boxer had joined police service in 1988 as an assistant sub-inspector and later was promoted as inspector. He escaped the country in 2008 following registration of multiple cases against him under murder and other charges.

He secretly returned to the country in July 2018 while the government kept rejecting rumours of his extradition.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2019