ISLAMABAD, July 6: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday directed the federal authorities to remove the name of Syed Zulfiqar Bukhari aka Zulfi Bukhari from the blacklist.
Justice Amir Farooq of the high court gave this direction on a petition filed by Mr. Bukhari against restrictions on his travelling abroad. On July 3, the bench reserved the decision after hearing arguments from lawyers representing the petitioner and the official respondents. Bukhari, a British national, was briefly barred from boarding a special flight for Saudi Arabia from Noor Khan Airbase to perform Umrah along with PTI chief Imran Khan on June 11.
He, however, was later allowed to travel when he submitted an affidavit to the effect that he would return to the country after spending six days in the kingdom.
He is facing a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) inquiry and had skipped its multiple summons. After his return from Saudi Arabia, he filed the petition in the high court, requesting it to remove his name from the blacklist.
At the previous hearing, the judges were told that the anti-graft watchdog moved a request, asking the relevant authorities to place his name on the Exit Control List (ECL), but at the time the relevant subcommittee was dysfunctional so his name was added to the blacklist. -DNA
