Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed was stopped from traveling abroad on Wednesday despite possessing special permission from the Lahore High Court (LHC) to perform Umrah.
According to Rashid, immigration officials at Islamabad airport prevented him from boarding his flight, citing that his name remains on the Exit Control List (ECL). The politician said he will now file a contempt of court petition against those responsible for violating the court’s decision.
Speaking to reporters at the airport, Rashid expressed frustration over being barred from travel despite having judicial approval.
“The court had given me special permission to perform Umrah,” he said. “Justice Sadaqat Ali of the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi Bench removed my name from the ECL and clearly directed that I should be allowed to go.”
He added that the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) had also raised no objection to his travel plans. “The ATC said if I want to go, then go. But today, their decision is not being respected,” Rashid said.
Plans to move contempt of court case
Sheikh Rashid announced that he would challenge the violation of the court’s orders. “We will file a contempt of court case in the high court because the judicial decision is being ignored,” he told media outside the Anti-Terrorism Court in Rawalpindi.
He reiterated his resolve, saying, “Our life and death are with Pakistan. I will not back down from my legal and constitutional right.”
Comments on political developments
In response to a question from reporters, Sheikh Rashid took a swipe at both US President Donald Trump and the current Pakistan government. “Trump should go, and this government should go,” he remarked, accusing the current administration of maintaining close ties with India while “spreading love stories” domestically.
When asked about the proposed 27th constitutional amendment, the former federal minister refrained from commenting directly, saying only, “We will see when the amendment comes.”
