Summary The name of ex-present general (r) Pervez Musharraf has been placed on the Exit Control List.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News): According to the media, Directorate General Immigration and Passport has said that Musharraf’s name has been put on ECL and a circular has also been issued to all the exit points, including airports.
The Sindh High Court had issued directives for putting former president’s name on the ECL and granted him protective bail till April 19.
The Supreme Court today also directed authorities concerned to ensure the former President would not leave the country.
The order came as an SC bench took up high treason case against the former army chief and president of the country who ousted the then prime minister’s government in 1999 in a bloodless coup.
Earlier, The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to former military ruler General (R) Pervez Musharraf to appear in court on Tuesday.
A two-member bench of the apex court heard the petitions to put ex-dictator Pervez Musharraf on trial for treason, the latest in a series of problems he has faced since his return home last month.
The bench also directed Secretary Interior to ensure that Musharraf does not leave the country and ordered that his name be added to the exit control list (ECL).
The court also issued a notice to the federal government for its stance on the case.
The former military ruler returned on March 24 from four years in exile, vowing to run for parliament in the May 11 general election.
But the Supreme Court on Monday heard petitions brought by various lawyers who want Musharraf tried for treason for imposing emergency rule and arresting judges in 2007, a move that ultimately paved the way for his downfall.
"Musharraf should be prosecuted for high treason because he is guilty of subversion of constitution," lawyer Hamid Khan told the court.
"He should be punished with death or be jailed for life."
Justice Jawad Khawaja said the court had already declared the emergency rule imposed by Musharraf in 2007 as unconstitutional and asked what action the state had taken in response.
Syed Afshan Adil, a defence lawyer for Musharraf, said the court should not entertain the petitions against her client because "only a state can initiate high treason case".
Musharraf faces a number of other legal cases. He has been bailed over the 2007 killing of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and a Baluch rebel leader in 2006, and for sacking and arresting judges in 2007.
He has been approved to stand for election only in the remote northern area of Chitral on the Afghan border, after his application to stand in three other constitutencies -- in Islamabad, Karachi and Punjab province -- were rejected.
The May election will be the first democratic transition of power in Pakistan.
Since its founding in 1947 it has been governed by four military rulers, most recently Musharraf, and is struggling with a weak economy, chronic instability and poverty.
Since he left office in 2008 Musharraf s power base has shrivelled. Last month he suffered the indignity of having a shoe thrown at him in court by an angry lawyer -- a deeply insulting gesture in the Muslim world.
He is not thought likely to win more than a couple of seats with his All Pakistan Muslim League party, which he founded in self-imposed exile with the help of Pakistani expatriates.
Officials in Chitral, where Musharraf hopes to win support because of development work carried out during his rule, approved his candidature on Sunday. But a lawyer in the town said he would appeal against the ruling.
