Justice Bajwa says a written record now constitutes a ‘substantial guarantee’ of civil liberty
LAHORE:
Immigration officials can no longer detain passengers on verbal orders alone, the Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled, rejecting the practice as a violation of fundamental rights.
The verdict constitutes a tough legal check for the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), just days after it revealed the scale of its current dragnet: 66,154 travelers disembarked in 2025.
Presiding over the Multan court, Justice Ali Zia Bajwa issued a two-page interim order stating that providing written reasons for a travel ban is not a mere formality but a “substantial legal guarantee”.
During the hearing of a motion challenging such discharge, the court asked the state judicial representative to explain the specific reasons for this action. The officer admitted that no written reason was on file.
Read: Government panel to investigate unloading of travelers
Transparency and the right to legal remedy depend on a paper trail, the court observed, warning that arbitrary restrictions on personal liberty violate the principles of natural justice. “Any action restricting personal freedom must have a clear legal basis,” Judge Bajwa wrote, ordering authorities to provide the petitioner with a written explanation before the next hearing.
FIA unloading statistics
These court restrictions come amid a massive enforcement campaign. Testifying before the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis earlier this week, FIA Director General Riffat Mukhtar defended the agency’s vigilance, citing the disembarkation of more than 66,000 passengers this year.
Broken down, the numbers paint a picture of aggressive border control. Around 51,000 people were arrested due to the “questionable veracity” of their documents, relating to work visas, tourist visas and Umrah.
Learn more: 66,154 air travelers disembarked this year, FIA tells NA
External diplomatic pressure appears to be behind the scrutiny. The DG noted that 56,000 Pakistani beggars had recently been deported from Saudi Arabia, a trend he identified as one of the main triggers for tighter control. He further informed the committee that the UAE had imposed visa restrictions, while illegal migration routes to Africa, Cambodia and Thailand were seeing increased traffic.
Government investigation
Faced with growing complaints that valid visa holders were caught in this net, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif intervened. A high-level committee, headed by Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Chaudhry Salik, is currently investigating the matter.
Comprising representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NADRA and the Digital Authority of Pakistan, the group is tasked with standardizing verification processes to ensure genuine travelers are not harassed.
