RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s special flight to Medina was delayed for about an hour at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA) on Monday after the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) immigration staff refused to allow his close aide to leave due to his name reportedly being placed on the Exit Control List (ECL).

According to sources, the PTI chairman, his wife Bushra Bibi, Aleem Khan and his wife Kiran Aleem and Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari and another person were to depart from BBIA for Saudi Arabia for umrah.

Mr Bukhari’s name was reportedly on the ECL and was stopped by FIA staff. The flight was allowed to leave with Mr Bukhari on board after about an hour.

When asked, PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry told Dawn the incident was all due to a misunderstanding by the FIA immigration staff as they had confused Mr Bukhari with someone on the ECL with a similar name.

“[Zulfiqar Bukhari] is not a Pakistani citizen and has nothing to do with local laws,” he said.

When asked, an FIA director told Dawn that Zulfiqar Bukhari was in fact on the ECL and that he was allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia when he sought permission from the interior ministry for travelling for “one time”.

“Zulfiqar Bukhari has been granted a one-time permission by the interior ministry,” he said.

FIA Deputy Director Immigration Mohammad Bilal said Zulfiqar Bukhari was allowed to travel when his name was removed from ECL for one time and that he will not be allowed to travel without permission from the interior ministry again.

He said Mr Bukhari was facing a National Accountability Bureau case which is why his name was put on the ECL.

The new Islamabad International Airport has been operational since May but BBIA is used for VVIP and VIP movements.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2018