The Islamabad High Court ordered the removal of citizen Zain Atiq’s name from the Passport Control List, saying travel restrictions cannot be imposed without legal procedure.
The court has declared that placing a citizen’s name on the Passport Control List without following the prescribed legal process is illegal.
The court ordered authorities to remove the name of citizen Zain Atiq from the list, observing that no citizen can be subjected to travel restrictions without law, procedure and due process.
PCL listing illegal without procedure
In its decision, the Islamabad High Court clarified that the state cannot impose travel restrictions on a citizen without meeting legal requirements. The court said putting a name on the Passport Control List without the prescribed procedure is unlawful.
It noted that authorities failed to fulfil the legal requirements in the case of citizen Zain Atiq.
According to the case record, Zain Atiq’s name was included in the Passport Control List after he was deported from Turkey in July 2022.
However, the court observed that no deported person can be kept on the list for an indefinite period without approval from the competent authority.
The decision stated that no record was provided to show which authority had requested the inclusion of the applicant’s name in the PCL.
FIA recommended removal from list
The court noted that the FIA had recommended removing the citizen’s name from the Passport Control List because more than two years had passed.
Despite this recommendation, the Passport Authority rejected the application for removal from the PCL on the grounds of non-compliance.
The court held that while the final authority rests with the Passport Authority, the FIA’s recommendation cannot be rejected without solid reasons.
No criminal conviction or case on record
The Islamabad High Court also observed that there was no record of Zain Atiq’s conviction or involvement in any criminal case in Pakistan or Turkey.
In the absence of such material, the court said the applicant’s name could not remain on the Passport Control List.
The court ruled that the authorities had failed to justify the continued travel restriction.
The court directed the relevant authorities to remove Zain Atiq’s name from the Passport Control List. The ruling reaffirmed that travel restrictions must be backed by law, proper procedure and valid reasons, and cannot be imposed indefinitely.
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