The court orders that the authorities must “decide the citizen’s request within 10 days and present a compliance report”
The Islamabad High Court has issued notices to the federal government and other relevant authorities on a petition filed by Aziz Butt, a Pakistani national residing in Cambodia, seeking removal of his name from the blacklist. The court has directed all respondents to submit their responses.
Aziz Butt lives in Cambodia with his family. Visiting Pakistan recently, he was unable to return due to travel restrictions imposed on him by local authorities without informing him of the reasons.
Under Article 199 of the Constitution of Pakistan, he has filed a petition before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the appearance of his name in the blacklist and is awaiting its response.
Article 199 gives the High Courts the necessary jurisdiction to hear petitions for travel bans, i.e. for inclusion on the Exit Control List (ECL) or the Passport Control List (PCL).
Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro of the IHC heard the case on the petition on Thursday. The petitioner’s lawyer, Abdul Rehman Babar, described the case and added that they had approached the relevant forums, “but no response was received.”
“The relevant authorities do not respond or implement the orders,” he emphasized.
Justice Soomro commented that the court would “give directions to the concerned authorities and call for a compliance report.” He also noted that in similar cases “the instructions we have given so far have been implemented.”
An example from last year includes a petition by Shibli Faraz, a prominent member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who was removed from the PCL after a court ruling, but his name still remained in the ECL due to differences and bureaucratic blockages.
Read: Shibli Faraz removed from travel restrictions list after court ruling
The court summoned the deputy attorney general to the bench and ordered him to ensure that a decision on the petitioner’s application was taken within 10 days. The judge ordered that the authorities must “resolve the citizen’s request within ten days and present the compliance report to the Judicial Undersecretary.”
With these directions, the Islamabad High Court adjourned the hearing for 10 days.
