Islamabad (Pakistan News): The Islamabad High Court has issued an important judgment regarding travel restrictions and inclusion of names in the Passport Control List (PCL).
The court ruled that travel bans on any citizen can only be imposed by a legally authorized authority and strictly through the prescribed legal procedure.
The judgment stated that including a person’s name in the Passport Control List without due legal process is unlawful. The court ordered the immediate removal of citizen Zain Atiq from the PCL.
According to the court record, Zain Atiq was placed on the list after being deported from Turkey in July 2022. Later, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) recommended his removal after more than two years, but the Passport Authority failed to act on it.
The court observed that a person cannot be kept on the PCL indefinitely on the basis of illegal entry or deportation without approval from a competent authority. It further noted that there was no evidence of any criminal case or conviction against the petitioner.
Referring to the Shireen Mazari case, the court reiterated that travel restrictions can only be imposed in accordance with the law.
The court directed the relevant authorities to comply with legal requirements and ordered the immediate removal of the petitioner’s name from the PCL.