Senate body summons Sec Interior, DG FIA to explain ECL mechanism

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights here on Wednesday has called Secretary Interior and Director General Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to appear before the Committee in its next meeting and explain the procedure adopted to place names of individuals on Exit Control List.

It also directed the officials to brief the Committee about any and all such lists maintained openly or secretly which prohibit people from leaving the country without their knowledge of being in the list.

The meeting was held with Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar in the Chair and was attended among others by Senators Keshoo Bai, Dr. Mehr Taj Roughani, Hidayatullah and others The Committee took up the matter of re-tabling the Anti-Torture Bill which was presented by Senator Farhatullah Babar in 2014 and was passed by the Senate but was lapsed due to delay in the National Assembly.

The Committee was told that the Ministry has done a comparative study of two Bills on the issue and the Government Bill which is currently lying with the Interior Ministry will be soon sent to the Cabinet Committee on Legislation and hopefully it will be tabled in the National Assembly in its session in January.

The Committee observed that there should be no further delay in presenting the Bill as Pakistan is a signatory to International Anti-Torture Convention and Pakistan should take measures to implement its commitments.

The Committee directed the National Commission on Human Rights, Ministry of Human Rights, Ministry of Law and Justice and Ministry of Interior to sit together and hold consultation on the draft Bill on missing persons and present the same before the Committee.