Some MPs removed from ECL provisionally

KABUL (PAN): The Attorney-General Office (AGO) on Thursday announced the temporary removal from the Exit Control List (ECL) of some Wolesi Jirga members who met prosecutors in connection with investigations against them.

MPs Haji Zahir Qadeer, Samiullah Samim, Mohammad Arif Rahmani, Mohammad Azim Mohseni and Mahmood Khan Sulaimankhel were placed on ECL in early June after Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal accused them of smuggling and making illegal demands on the government.

As the deadline for the six legislators expired, only one — Lalai Hamidzai — appeared before prosecutors. He rejected as groundless the allegations and escaped the punitive measure as a result. The rest were barred from leaving the country.

AGO spokesman Basir Aziz told Pajhwok Afghan News some of the five legislators had met prosecutors in connection with the allegations levelled against them. Their names had been struck off the ECL provisionally, he said.

Without naming anyone, Aziz said: “At this stage, the relevant law doesn’t allow me to identify them by name.” Their cases are under investigation at the moment, according to the spokesman.

The announcement comes amid reports that Samiullah Samim has left for Saudi Arabia. A police officer at the Kabul airport, Sahib Shah, confirmed receiving AGO orders removing Samim from ECL, but he was unaware of the MP’s travel to Saudi Arabia.

Asked for comments, parliamentarian Azim Mohseni said: “Since I haven’t approach the AGO so far, my name remains on the ECL.” He vowed not to visit prosecutors as long as Mohammad Ishaq Aloko, who has been sacked by the assembly, remained AG.

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