The Minister of the Interior was told to remove Shajreel’s spouse’s mother’s name from the ECL

The Sindh High Court instructed the Minister of the Interior on Friday to remove the names of the Pakistan People’s Party MPA and former Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon’s wife and mother from the exit control list.

The Chamber Judge, led by Judge Mohammad Karim Khan Agha, revised the order of the names of Memon’s wife and mother on the list, stating that the applicant will return to Pakistan (if abroad) as a person by the court of first instance when needed.

The applicants Sadaf Sharjeel and Zeenat Inam stated in their application that the High Court had confirmed their pre-arrest bail in reference documents submitted against Memon and others regarding assets beyond known sources of income, but had instructed the Ministry of the Interior to Their name on the export control list.

They argued that they had made a large investment in the United Arab Emirates and a partner of a company, which constituted a large part of their income, so any exclusion from participation in the above business would violate Article 18. constitution.

They stated that because they put their names on the ECL, they could not participate in business meetings and might suffer financial losses. They asked the court to review the order to include their names in the ECL and allow them to travel abroad, because neither NAB nor the Federation require their names to be listed.

The special prosecutor of the National Accountability Bureau objected to these applications and said that the review of the order was untenable. The petitioner’s proper legal route was to submit an amendment order to the Supreme Court. He proposed that the applicant is at risk of fleeing and will abscond. After reviewing the order, the court will open the floodgates to review other bail orders. He asked the court to reject the application.

After hearing the arguments of the lawyer, the court found that all the property allegedly held by the petitioner as benamidars was located in Pakistan, so if they choose to abscond, the law will proceed as usual. If the main defendant is convicted of their property, Pakistan is likely to be Confiscated, just like the Nawaz Sharif case that recently absconded, NAB will not lose the game in this aspect of the case.

The court observed that NAB did not issue any arrest warrants against the petitioners, nor did they require their names to be included in the ECL when they returned to Pakistan, and NAB did not seem to consider the petitioner’s flight risk at the time.

The court observed that the petitioners all own property in the country and that neither the petitioner nor Sadaf’s children are dual nationals, which will make it easier to abscond.

The court observed that, despite the delay for more than a year because the petitioner was not at fault, the court of first instance did not raise any charges in the case. It also pointed out that there were 12 defendants and 56 prosecution witnesses who would be subject to 12 separate cross-examinations by each lawyer. It stated that if the petitioners’ names remain on the ECL until the end of the trial, they will actually have to stay in Pakistan for at least another three years, because it is clear that the trial is highly unlikely to be completed within 20 years. In the next three years, this will violate the basic rights of the petitioner.

The court amended the previous order, instructing the Secretary of the Interior to remove the petitioner’s name from the ECL. It observes that all other parts of the order will remain unchanged.

It instructs the petitioner to return to the country (if abroad) when the court of first instance requests to appear in person in person. NAB has submitted reference documents claiming that Memon has accumulated wealth and assets worth Rs 24.3 crore outside of its known sources of income and purchased real estate in the name of Benamies and relatives. It further claimed that Memon transferred 1.8 billion rupees out of the country through Hawala and Hundi illegally through a currency exchange company between 2012 and 2016.