ISLAMABAD:
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that travel restrictions on citizens can only be imposed by a competent judicial authority and strictly according to the procedure prescribed by law, stating that names cannot be included in the Passport Control List (PCL) without due process.
In an important judgment on citizens’ right to travel, the court ordered the immediate removal of petitioner Zain Atiq’s name from the PCL, finding that his continued inclusion on the list was illegal.
According to the judgment, Atiq’s name was listed on the PCL after his expulsion from Turkey in July 2022. Subsequently, the FIA recommended removing his name from the list at the request of the petitioner, noting that more than two years had passed since his expulsion.
However, the Passport Authority rejected his application on the grounds that it was not actionable. The court observed that a person deported for illegal entry or any other prohibited act cannot be kept on the PCL indefinitely without the approval of a competent authority.
The judgment noted that the record did not demonstrate that any competent authority ever decided to retain the applicant’s name on the PCL. She observed that the file contained no evidence of a conviction or pending criminal case against him in Pakistan or Turkey.
Referring to the Shireen Mazari case, the IHC reiterated that travel restrictions on citizens can only be imposed by a legal authority through the procedure prescribed by law. It considered that the competent authorities had not fulfilled the legal requirements in this case.
While observing that the Passport Authority has the final authority in the matter, the court held that the FIA’s recommendation could not be ignored without strong legal reasons.
The judgment further stated that no criminal proceedings were pending against the applicant, that there was no conviction handed down by a competent court and that there was no other legal basis to justify his continued registration on the PCL.
In the absence of a legal decision from a competent authority, the court ruled, the petitioner’s name could not remain on the PCL. Accordingly, the IHC ordered the authorities to immediately remove Zain Atiq’s name from the PCL.
