ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday issued notice to the chairman of the National Database and Registration Authority in a contempt of court petition about the blocking of a passport and gave Nadra two weeks for submission of a response.

The petition was filed through lawyer Saeed Yousuf Khan.

During the hearing, the petitioners said that Nadra had restored their identity cards in compliance with a prior court order, but failed to withdraw a letter that had ordered the directorate general of passports to block their passports.

Advocate Yousuf Khan informed the court that Nadra had previously blocked the petitioners’ identity cards, but later cleared them following a personal hearing.

A report that confirmed the clearance of those identity cards had been submitted to the court, and Nadra’s legal officer had also affirmed that the issue had been resolved.

However, when one of the petitioners attempted to renew his passport to travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, he was informed that his passport remained blocked because of Nadra’s earlier instructions to the passport office.

The petitioners argued that Nadra’s failure to withdraw the blocking letter despite the court’s order constitutes contempt.

They requested the court to initiate contempt proceedings against the Nadra chairman and regional director and order immediate withdrawal of the blocking letter.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq then issued notices to the parties involved and instructed them to provide an explanation within two weeks.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2024