Opposition senators call for abolishing travel blacklist

ISLAMABAD: The Senate held a debate on a report submitted by Senate’s Standing Committee for Law and Justice regarding travel blacklist.Taking part in the debate on Monday, Senate Javed Abbasi noted names of ordinary citizens have been put on the blacklist. He said that the travel blacklist was mostly being misused at Karachi and Peshawar airports. The PML-N senator called for an end to the practice of blackmailing people by putting them on the blacklist. “If one is not placed on the exit name, his name is put on the blacklist only for the purpose of blackmailing,” he said, adding the blacklist should be abolished. Speaking on the occasion, Senator Sherry Rehman said that she was told by a federal minister that there was a third list in addition to the ECL and blacklist. She lamented that passengers who were not placed on the ECL and blacklist were also being stopped from flying. No one, she said, should be on the ECL other than notorious criminals. “Another two lists in the name of ECL are unlawful,” she said, adding that politicians and ordinary citizens were being harassed.She further said that there was only one list even in the worst dictatorial regime. 

from The News International - National http://bit.ly/2RStL9D