TERENCE J SIGAMONY

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court has been moved to order director general (DG) Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to investigate on whose orders Zulfiqar Bukhari’s name was removed from the ECL and under what authority of law Noor Khan Airbase was used for facilitating departure of private persons through a private plane.

Muhammad Kausar has filed the petition under Article 199 of Constitution through his counsel Col Inamur Rahim (retd) and made secretaries of defence and interior and director general FIA as respondents.

The petitioner further prayed for initiation of disciplinary/criminal proceedings against entire chain of command for compromising the impartiality and fairness of the forthcoming general election.

He contended that the prime responsibility of the caretaker government is to ensure that the elections are held in a transparent manner and the basic functions of the government continue till an elected setup is in place. The caretaker setup has to be impartial and above any political affiliations.

Advocate Inam stated that on June 11, Zulfiqar Hussain Bukhari, commonly known as Zulfi Bukhari, accompanied the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on his way to Saudi Arabia. Zulfiqar’s name was in ECL; therefore, he was stopped by immigration authorities at Nur Khan Airbase.

Zulfiqar’s name was placed on the ECL along with other owners of offshore companies in pursuance of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) order regarding probe into the Panama Papers scandal. The NAB had served three notices on Zulfiqar to appear before it but he failed to comply with the orders and did not appear before the NAB.

He said Imran Khan allegedly used his influence with the caretaker government to have Zulfiqar’s name removed from the ECL. The process of removal was so expeditious that the name of Zulfiqar was immediately removed from the ECL and he left for Saudi Arabia on a special chartered plane within one hour along with the PTI chairman.

The Ministry of Interior in this regard issued a letter granting one-time ‘permission’ to Bukhari for six days.

He said the proper procedure was not followed for removal from the ECL which requires clearance from the cabinet’s sub-committee dealing with the ECL cases. However, it has also been alleged that Bukhari’s name was removed from the ECL on the intervention of caretaker Interior Minister Azam Khan who is closely linked to Imran Khan. The interior minister is a board member of Imran Khan Foundation (IKF), a charity and welfare organization managed by the PTI chairman.

In order to further compromise the impartiality of the interim government and state institutions, special arrangements were made for Imran Khan to use the Air Force base for flying by chartered plane with full protocol. The use of a military base for his private visit was against the rules and such facility is not extended to any other citizen or the head of any other political party.

He contended that all law ministries and agencies of the government including the respondents are under statutory obligations to act in accordance with the law and Constitution of Pakistan.

The conduct of respondents has badly shaken the trust of the citizens who were expecting and hope free and fair elections as per the will of the people.

The petitioner is left with no other efficacious remedy except to invoke the constitutional jurisdiction of this court, the petitioner further said.