ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday recommended placing the name of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on the Exit Control List (ECL).

“After the issuance of non-bailable warrants of arrest, the name of Ishaq Dar has been recommended for placement on ECL,” said an official press release issued by NAB.

This is the second major step taken by the bureau in two consecutive days against the embattled minister; on Wednesday it announced it was going to reopen the Rs1.2 billion Hudaibya Paper Mills case in which Mr Dar is said to be one of the main accused.

A NAB source told Dawn that the decision to put Dar’s name on the ECL was made by NAB Chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal, and a letter had been sent to the interior ministry in this regard.

Interior ministry official says finance minister can be arrested upon his return if his name is included in the list

This recommendation is being seen as a test case for Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, and it remains to be seen whether he acts on the recommendation to place his cabinet colleague’s name on the ECL.

A source said Mr Dar had sought a pardon from NAB in the Hudaibya case. But after the Lahore High Court quashed the accountability court’s order, he was denied the pardon.

“As the minister was denied a pardon, NAB has decided to specifically reopen the case against him,” the source said.

“Ishaq Dar became an approver in the Hudaibya Papar Mills reference and after it was quashed, a fresh investigation is being initiated against Ishaq Dar as an accused,” the source said.

Mr Dar is currently in London in connection with his medical treatment and it is uncertain whether he will return to the country.

On Tuesday, Mr Dar’s counsel Qusain Faisal Mufti told the accountability court that during his client’s angiography, it was discovered that one of the blood vessels leading to his heart had ruptured, and offered that the court might try him via video link.

Since the finance minister is presently abroad, putting his name on the ECL seems to be an illogical move. However, a senior interior ministry official told Dawn that once a person’s name was placed on the ECL, he could not return to the country quietly and would be arrested upon arrival.

“When an individual whose name is on the ECL arrives at any airport in the country and goes through the immigration process, the computer shows that this person is wanted in a case and he is arrested on the spot,” the official added.

In Mr Dar’s case, an accountability court in Islamabad has issued non-bailable warrants for his arrest in a case of accumulating assets beyond his known means and, therefore, he can be arrested whenever he arrives in the country.

Ahsan Iqbal recently replaced the finance minister on the Council of Common Interests and the opposition has been demanding Mr Dar’s removal.

They claim that Mr Dar, who is a close relative of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was the mastermind of the Sharifs’ alleged money laundering scheme which was exposed in the Panama Papers leaks.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2017