ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Interior has removed the names of 5,807 people from the list of 42,725 blacklisted individuals.

An official of the Ministry of Interior told that the decision was taken by the periodical review committee for review of blacklisted citizens under category ‘B’. The meeting was held by the committee, following the direction of Interior Minister Brig Ijaz Shah (retd), after a lapse of four years, he said.

He said the minister directed the DG Immigration and Passports to convene a meeting of periodical review committee immediately for consideration of cases on merit and their removal after due process.

The official told that the ‘blacklist’ was a sort of Exit Control List (ECL); however, the decision to placing someone’s name on the ECL was taken by the government. While the decision to place someone’s name on the blacklist was taken by the law enforcement agency concerned, after taking permission from the court.

He said once a person was placed on the blacklist, his/her passport and ID card were blocked, and hence, travelling out of the country was no longer possible. In case of a foreigner, he said his/her name along with the passport number and picture were placed in the Integrated Border Management System (IBMS) to avert his/her exit from the country.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020