The Islamabad High Court has declared it illegal to place the names of citizens on the Passport Control List (PCL) without following the prescribed legal procedure.
Justice Muhammad Azam Khan of the Islamabad High Court issued a five-page written judgment in a case involving a citizen whose name was placed on the Passport Control List after being deported from Türkiye.
The court ordered the removal of citizen Zain Ateeq’s name from the Passport Control List, ruling that travel restrictions cannot be imposed on a citizen without lawful authority and due process.
Declaring the inclusion of a citizen’s name in the Passport Control List without the prescribed procedure to be unlawful, the court noted that the petitioner’s name had been placed on the list in July 2022.
Upon the petitioner’s request, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) recommended removing his name from the PCL after more than two years had elapsed. However, the Passport Authority dismissed the application for removal from the PCL on the grounds of non-prosecution.
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The court observed that a person deported for illegal entry or any other prohibited act cannot be kept on the Passport Control List indefinitely without approval from the competent authority. It further noted that the record contained no evidence that any authorized body had determined that the petitioner’s name should remain on the PCL.
The judgment further stated that there was no record of any conviction or pending criminal case against the petitioner in either Pakistan or Türkiye. In the absence of such a determination, the petitioner’s name could not legally remain on the Passport Control List.
Referring to the Shireen Mazari case, the court reiterated that travel restrictions on citizens may only be imposed by a lawful authority and in accordance with the prescribed legal procedure. The court held that the authorities had failed to fulfill these legal requirements in the present case. It added that although the Passport Authority has the final authority in such matters, the FIA’s recommendation cannot be ignored without valid and substantial reasons.
The court also observed that there were no pending criminal proceedings against the petitioner, no record of any conviction by a competent court, and no other legal basis to justify the continuation of the travel restriction.
