Imran Khan
Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, expressed gratitude to the government for putting him on the no-fly list on Friday and claimed he had no plans to travel abroad because he neither owns property nor operates any enterprises there.
According to reports, Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi, and other PTI party leaders and former assembly members were denied permission to leave the country on Thursday.
Taking to Twitter, Khan wrote: “I want to thank the government for putting my name on the ECL as I have no plans to travel abroad, because I neither have any properties or businesses abroad nor even a bank account outside the country.”
“If and when I do get an opportunity for a holiday, it will be in our northern mountains, my favourite place on earth,” he said.
The Exit Control List (ECL) is maintained by the interior ministry and deals with individuals who are not allowed to leave the country due to pending court cases or for other reasons.
Earlier, the Samaa News channel reported on Thursday that the Pakistan government had barred Khan, his wife and at least 80 people from leaving the country.
“The federal government has decided to add the names of 80 people, including PTI Chairman Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, to the no-fly list,” the report said.
In connection with the rioting that broke out after the PTI chairman was taken into custody on May 9 in a corruption case, Khan, 70, and seven other senior party figures are being prosecuted. On May 9, tense demonstrations broke out after paramilitary Rangers detained Khan on the grounds of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
In retaliation for Khan’s detention, his party members destroyed a dozen military facilities, including the Lahore Corps Commander’s Mansion, the Mianwali airbase, and the ISI facility in Faisalabad.
Moreover, the mob made its first assault on the Army’s general headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.
Ten people were killed in the violent battles, according to the police, while 40 members of Khan’s party allegedly died when security officers opened fire on them.
Thousands of Khan’s supporters were arrested following the violence that the powerful Army described as a “dark day” in the history of the country.
Several top PTI leaders were also arrested in the wake of the unrest.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated that individuals charged with assaults on civilian targets would be tried in civilian courts while those accused of attacks on military institutions would be punished in military courts.
After the attacks by Khan’s supporters on military facilities after the former prime minister’s imprisonment, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif stated on Wednesday that the government was considering a potential ban on Khan’s PTI party.
Khan was removed from office in April of last year after losing a vote of no confidence in him, which he said was a result of a US-led plot to assassinate him for his independent foreign policy choices on Russia, China, and Afghanistan.
