The Islamabad High Court has ruled that placing a citizen’s name on the Passport Control List (PCL) without following the prescribed legal procedure is unlawful, reaffirming that travel restrictions can only be imposed through proper legal authority and due process.
In a five-page written judgment, Justice Muhammad Azam Khan ordered the removal of citizen Zain Atiq’s name from the Passport Control List after finding that the authorities had failed to establish any lawful basis for keeping him on the list.
The case involved a Pakistani citizen who was deported from Türkiye in July 2022. Following his deportation, his name was added to the PCL. However, the court observed that no competent authority had formally determined that his name should remain on the list.
The judgment noted that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), after reviewing the matter, had recommended removing the petitioner’s name because more than two years had passed. Despite this recommendation, the passport authorities dismissed the request on procedural grounds without providing sufficient justification.
Justice Azam Khan held that a person deported for illegal entry or any other prohibited act cannot be placed on the Passport Control List indefinitely without the approval of a competent legal authority. The court further observed that there was no evidence on record showing the petitioner had been convicted of any offence or was facing any pending criminal proceedings either in Pakistan or Türkiye.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Shireen Mazari case, the court reiterated that restrictions on a citizen’s right to travel must be imposed strictly in accordance with the law and established legal procedures.
The judgment concluded that the authorities had failed to meet the legal requirements necessary to justify the travel restriction. As no criminal case, conviction or other valid legal grounds existed against the petitioner, the court directed the authorities to remove his name from the Passport Control List.