Ex-Pakistani PM Imran Khan placed on ‘no-fly list’: report

Islamabad:

Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leader and former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has been added to the no-fly list, Pakistan Media reported Thursday citing sources.

“IK (Imran Khan) has been added to the no-fly list,” Pakistan Daily tweeted, citing sources. The Pakistan Daily is a digital news portal in Pakistan that mainly reports political updates from Pakistan.

However, there has been no official confirmation of Imran Khan’s addition to the no-fly list.

It comes a day after Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said the government was considering imposing a ban on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for the incidents that occurred on May 9, Dawn reported.

Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Khawaja Asif said: “No decision has been made yet, but a review is certainly underway.

He called the vandalism of military installations across Pakistan on May 9 “coordinated attacks” planned by PTI chairman Imran Khan, according to Dawn.

Earlier, Dawn reported that police had sent the names of 245 PTI activists, including three former members of the provincial assembly, to the federal government for inclusion on the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL), to prevent them from leave the country.

Attributing it to sources, Dawn wrote on Thursday that Rawalpindi district police gave around 319 names on their wanted list and handed over the names of 245 PTI activists who are being held by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). . The other 74 people have not yet been arrested.

Dawn is one of Pakistan’s leading media houses that reports national and international issues related to Pakistan.

Dawn had reported that on Tuesday, Lahore police had applied for 746 PTI leaders to be placed on the no-fly list, in a bid to impose a month-long restriction on their overseas travel. After the request made by the Rawalpindi Police, the total number of PTI activists likely to be listed stands at 991.

Under the PNIL, people on the police wanted list are barred from leaving the country for 30 days, Dawn wrote citing a senior police official.

After reviewing the records of those arrested, police have finalized the names of 245 people detained during and after the May 9 violence. These names were then sent to the FIA ​​to restrict their movement by air, land or sea.

Among those still wanted by police but not yet arrested are ex-PTI MPA Rashid Hafeez, Sheikh Rasheed’s nephew; Fayyazul Hassan Chohan, who was previously arrested and later released; and Umar Tanveer Butt, Dawn reported.

According to information provided to the federal government, it was revealed that 31 suspects were arrested by RA Bazar police in connection with the attack on GHQ, while 27 other people wanted by the police are still at large, said reported Dawn.

The temporary travel restrictions were proposed by police after identifying PTI supporters involved in violent protests through video clips, CCTV footage, intelligence and geofences.

Under the supervision of City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Khalid Hamdani, the police investigation team arrested 104 suspects in connection with the GHQ attack case, and identification parades for 23 people were carried out.

Police have been ordered to speed up legal proceedings against those arrested in connection with the May 9 violence, Dawn reported.

In this regard, the police also requested the Punjab Home Affairs Department to form a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to investigate the terrorism related cases registered under Section 7 of the Anti Terrorism Act (ATA ).

A police crackdown is underway to apprehend the suspects sought in connection with these cases.

Meanwhile, officers said two separate police teams, each overseen by a Superintendent of Police, have been formed to apprehend PTI Punjab and KP leaders and militants. They added that Punjab and KP police were being contacted for assistance in apprehending those wanted by the capital’s police in connection with the cases, Dawn reported.

However, comments received from KP police were not encouraging, officers said. They said police in the capital had received a response saying they were likely to encounter significant resistance when raiding homes for arrests, as it is against local culture for strangers to enter homes.

Police in the capital have also asked the Ministry of Interior to register the names of PTI leaders on the PNIL and the Exit Control List (ECL), who are still at large in connection with the cases registered against them. for violence in May 2022 and 2023.

(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)