The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) bigwigs have been barred from travelling abroad over the 9 May vandalism as 132 of the party leaders to be added to the Exit Control List (ECL).

According to details surfaced on Saturday, the federal government has tightened its net around elements accused of fuelling political unrest. Moreover, formal approval has been granted for placing the names of political leaders on the ECL.

Sources divulged that the names of PTI founder Imran Khan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Omar Ayub, Fawad Chaudhry and Shibli Faraz have been included.

Former KP chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Shehryar Afridi and Usman Dar have also been prohibited from travelling abroad, according to sources.

Shireen Mazari, Zartaj Gul, Musarrat Cheema and Kanwal Shauzab have likewise been placed on the ECL, sources reported.

Sheikh Rasheed, Sheikh Rashid, Tahir Sadiq, Raja Basharat and Wasiq Qayyum will also not be permitted to go abroad, sources added.

It is pertinent to note that the Punjab Home Department had recommended the inclusion of 132 names in the ECL, according to sources.

Also Read: DG ISPR declares 'a jailed leader' has become national security threat

Separately, earlier on Friday, the director general of Inter-Services Public Relations, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, has asserted that there is a certain individual, who is imprisoned, yet believes that if he is not in power, then there is nothing.

"His statements have now become a threat to national security," said the military spokesperson in a press conference.

He criticised that individual -- without taking any names -- saying: “That person’s politics is over. He is a prisoner of his own ego and impulses.” Lt Gen Chaudhry appeared to be addressing incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan and assailing his and PTI's alleged “anti-army” rhetoric throughout the press conference.

The DG ISPR reiterated that the Pakistan Army must be kept away from politics, stating: “We will not allow anyone to create a divide between the state and the people. The Pakistan Army stands between the people and the sedition of the terrorists.”