The Court orders the authorities to “rule on the citizen’s request within 10 days and submit a compliance report”
The Islamabad High Court has issued notices to the federal government and other relevant authorities regarding a petition filed by Aziz Butt, a Pakistani citizen residing in Cambodia, seeking removal of his name from the blacklist. The court asked all defendants to submit their responses.
Aziz Butt lives in Cambodia with his family. During a recent visit to Pakistan, he was unable to return due to travel restrictions imposed on him by local authorities without informing him.
Under Article 199 of the Pakistani Constitution, he has filed a petition with the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against his blacklisted name, and is awaiting its response.
Section 199 grants jurisdiction to the High Courts to hear applications for travel ban i.e. entry in Exit Control List (ECL) or Passport Control List (PCL).
Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro of the IHC heard the matter on the motion on Thursday. The petitioner’s lawyer, Abdul Rehman Babar, outlined the case, adding that he had contacted the relevant forums, “but no response was received.”
“The competent authorities neither respond nor execute orders,” he stressed.
Justice Soomro remarked that the court would “issue directions to the authorities concerned and seek a compliance report”. He further noted that in similar cases, “the instructions we have issued so far have been implemented.”
An example from last year includes a petition by Shibli Faraz, a prominent member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who was removed from the PCL after a court ruling, but whose name still remained on the ECL due to differences and bureaucratic blockages.
Read: Shibli Faraz removed from travel restriction list after court ruling
The court summoned the Deputy Attorney General to the podium and ordered him to ensure that a decision on the petitioner’s application was made within 10 days. The judge ordered that authorities must “rule on the citizen’s request within ten days and submit the compliance report to the Deputy Judicial Registrar.”
With these directions, the Islamabad High Court adjourned the hearing for 10 days.
