Anwar Majeed’s plea for removal of his name from ECL dismissed

A Karachi banking court has dismissed as infructuous an application of Omni Group owner Anwar Majeed seeking the removal of his name from the Exit Control List (ECL).

Majeed, a co-accused in a money laundering and fake bank accounts case alongside PPP co-chairperson and former president Asif Ali Zardari, filed the application when the case was transferred back to the banking court by an Islamabad accountability court due to lack of jurisdiction following amendments made to the National Accountability Ordinance 1999.

During a recent hearing, in-charge judge Muhammad Saad Qureshi was informed that the case would once again be transferred to the anti-corruption watchdog following a recent Supreme Court judgment. It was stated that Majeed's application became infructuous and was subsequently dismissed by the judge.

Sources confirmed to The News that the case record had also been returned to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Earlier, the applicant's lawyer argued that the case was sent back to the banking court due to some amendments to the NAB law. He mentioned that Majeed had been granted post-arrest bail by the Supreme Court in September 2020, albeit with certain conditions, including a travel ban. On June 13, the apex court directed the relevant court to decide Majeed’s plea for removal from the ECL.

The lawyer, citing Majeed’s health concerns, stated that the 81-year-old required medical treatment abroad due to multiple ailments. Additionally, he noted that the Ministry of Interior had recently established a policy regarding the no-fly list, specifying that a person’s name could not be indefinitely placed on it.

In light of these circumstances, the court was requested to direct the interior secretary and the FIA director to remove the accused’s name from the ECL and take necessary steps for his medical treatment abroad.