The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that travel restrictions on citizens can only be imposed by a competent legal authority and strictly according to the procedure prescribed by law, declaring that names cannot be placed on the Passport Control List (PCL) without due process.

In a significant judgment on citizens’ right to travel, the court ordered the immediate removal of petitioner Zain Atiq’s name from the PCL, holding that his continued inclusion on the list was unlawful.

According to the judgment, Atiq’s name was placed on the PCL after he was deported from Turkiye in July 2022. Subsequently, FIA recommended removing his name from the list upon the petitioner’s request, noting that more than two years had elapsed since his deportation.

However, the Passport Authority rejected his application on the ground of non-prosecution. The court observed that a person deported for illegal entry or any other prohibited act cannot be kept on the PCL indefinitely without the approval of a competent authority.

The judgment noted that the record did not show that any competent authority had ever decided to retain the petitioner’s name on the PCL. It observed that the record showed no evidence of any conviction or pending criminal case against him in Pakistan or in Turkiye.

Referring to the Shireen Mazari case, the IHC reiterated that travel restrictions on citizens can only be imposed by a lawful authority through the procedure laid down by law. It held that the relevant authorities had failed to fulfil the legal requirements in the present case.

While observing that the Passport Authority has the final authority in such matters, the court ruled that the FIA’s recommendation could not be ignored without sound legal reasons.

The judgment further noted that no criminal proceedings were pending against the petitioner, there was no record of any conviction by a competent court, and no other legal basis existed to justify continuing his inclusion on the PCL.

In the absence of any lawful determination by a competent authority, the court held, the petitioner’s name could not remain on the PCL. Consequently, the IHC directed the authorities to immediately remove Zain Atiq’s name from the PCL.