164 more PTI leaders on no-fly list

LAHORE: After being placed on the no-fly list along with 226 leaders and lawmakers of his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Friday thanked the government for doing so, stating that he had no plans to travel abroad.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that as many as 164 more PTI leaders and activists were put on the no-fly list. A day earlier, Khan and hundreds of PTI leaders, as per sources, were added to the FIA’s Provisional National Identification List (PNIL) to prevent them from going abroad for their involvement in the May 9 violent riots, causing damage to public and private property, particularly those belonging to the country’s armed forces.

Taking to Twitter, the PTI chief wrote: “I want to thank the government for putting my name on the ECL as I have no plans to travel abroad.”

Citing reasons behind his plans, the former prime minister — who was voted out of office following a vote of no confidence in April last year — said he neither has “any properties or businesses abroad nor even a bank account outside the country.”

However, if he does get an opportunity to go for a holiday, Khan said he will choose the country’s northern mountains, terming the sites as his “favourite place on earth.”

“If and when I do get an opportunity for a holiday, it will be in our northern mountains, my favourite place on earth,” he added.

According to the sources, Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi has also been placed on the list, which includes PTI politicians Murad Saeed, Maleeka Bokhari, Fawad Chaudhry, Hammad Azhar, Qasim Suri, Asad Qaiser, Yasmin Rashid and Mian Aslam Iqbal.

The sources further claimed that some of the PTI leaders and office bearers tried leaving the country in the last three days, however, they were stopped at the airports.

In a bid to stop them from leaving the country, their names were sent by the police, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), and intelligence agencies.

Thousands of party workers and leaders were arrested during the crackdown on the PTI since May 9 for the party’s alleged involvement in the riots that claimed at least 8 lives and injured dozens of others.

Several party leaders and lawmakers — including Shireen Mazari, Fawad Chaudhry, Aamir Mehmood Kiani, Malik Amin Aslam, Mahmood Moulvi, Aftab Siddiqui, Fayyazul Hassan Chohan among others — have publicly denounced the attacks on the state installations and announced leaving the former ruling party since the May 9 vandalism.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan on Friday once again made the appeal for a dialogue to address the prevailing crisis. However, he said that the offer of dialogue should not be taken as his weakness.

In a TV address, Imran Khan said he was combating strange people as whenever he talked about dialogue, they started feeling terrified. He said he would continue to struggle for real freedom till his last breath.