ISLAMABAD:
The country’s passport authority has tendered an apology before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for “wrongly” placing the name of PTI leader and prominent lawyer Shoab Shaheen in the Passport Control List (PCL).
The IHC single-member bench, comprising Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, on Friday accepted a petition filed by Shaheen against the authorities’ decision to impose restrictions on his foreign travel.
During the hearing, Shaheen personally appeared before the court and argued that his name was initially listed in the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL). He said the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) removed his name from the list by court order. “However, my name was later added to the PCL as an act of political retaliation,” he said.
An FIA representative informed the court that his agency did not include Shaheen’s name in any list. Meanwhile, a Passport Office representative said his name was mistakenly added to the PCL, but the mistake has since been rectified.
Offering apologies, he said Shoaib Shaheen’s passport had been reactivated. Judge Arbab Muhammad Tahir commented that adding the name back to any list in the future would constitute contempt of court. The hearing was then adjourned until January 13.
