The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has granted senior advocate Latif Khosa permission to travel abroad, ordering the removal of his name from the Exit Control List (ECL).
Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani presided over the hearing of Khosa’s petition, challenging his placement on the ECL.
During the hearing, the petitioner stated that his name was added to the Exit Control List (ECL) due to a complaint filed against him at the Secretariat Police Station in connection with an organized protest before the Supreme Court.
The court questioned the justification for restricting his movements, given the minor nature of the charges under Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Government prosecutors acknowledged that no indictment had been presented in the case filed against Khosa for alleged protest activities before the Supreme Court.
The court criticized the inclusion of names on the ECL without solid basis, asking whether thousands of people facing similar charges had also been banned from traveling.
Latif Khosa informed the court that his previous flight on January 5 was missed due to the restrictions. He now plans to travel to Canada.
The High Court ordered Khosa to submit an affidavit to the trial court, ensuring her appearance whenever summoned. The session ended with conditional approval of his travel request.
Earlier, in October, Islamabad police had registered a terrorism case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Gohar Ali Khan, Latif Khosa and 19 other lawyers for burning an effigy of the leader a state institution before the Supreme Court. The charges were filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and other important sections of the law.
According to Express Newsthe case was filed by the Secretariat Police Station, naming personalities such as Shibli Faraz, Salman Akram Raja, Tayyab Mustafain Kazmi, Niazullah Niazi and Azam Swati.
Others listed in the first information report (FIR) include Naseem Haider Panjutha, Barrister Ansar, Barrister Gohar and Abdullah Wazir. The FIR claims that the protesters burned the effigy of the head of a state institution and resisted the police, threatening them with dire consequences.
The FIR further claims that the protesters chanted slogans, promising to block court decisions and disrupt court proceedings. Protesters also burned tires, blocking roads. Moreover, more than 100 unidentified people carrying PTI flags have been named in the case.
