PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court has declared as illegal placing the name of central leader of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and former senator Mohammad Azam Khan Swati on Exit Control List (ECL) and other travel restriction lists and directed the government not to create any hurdle in his international travel.

A bench consisting of Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Wiqar Ahmad accepted a petition filed by Mr Swati directing the government to remove his name from ECL, PCL (Passport Control List) and PNIL (Provisional National Identification List).

Mr Swati had filed the petition last year when he the government had declined to process a note verbale (diplomatic note) for him in order to visit Afghanistan being official passport holder. He was not issued the said note on the ground that he had failed to identify the official, government related work in Afghanistan and that his name had also been placed on ECL.

Advocate Ali Azim Afridi appeared for the petitioner and contended that as substantial time had lapsed and petitioner was no more interested in travelling to Afghanistan.

However, he stated that the petitioner had been a cardiac patient and wanted to travel to United Kingdom for open heart surgery. He added that that since his name had been put on ECL, PNIC and PCL, therefore, he couldn’t travel to UK.

Bench rules liberty of the petitioner can’t be curtailed over criminal case registered against him

Mr Afridi pointed out that the petitioner had obtained bail from competent courts in all those cases, which had been registered against him and mentioned in the comments filed by the ministry of interior.

He also produced copies of bail orders in the criminal cases wherein the petitioner had been charged.

An assistant attorney general Daulat Khan Mohmand represented the federal government and opposed the petitioner’s plea. He stated that name of the petitioner had been put in the said lists as he had been charged in criminal cases, detail of which had been available in comments field by the FIA and ministry of interior.

“Petitioner has surrendered before courts of law and his arrest is no more required to any law enforcing agency as he has obtained bail in the cases mentioned in comments. In such circumstances, retaining of his name in PCL, PNIL and ECL was not found justified,” the bench observed in its none-page detailed judgment authored by Justice Wiqar Ahmad.

“The liberty of the petitioner could not be curtailed with registration of a criminal case for which he may or may not be criminally liable for conviction. Mere registration of FIR in a case cannot be a ground for depriving a citizen of the exercise of all fundamental rights,” the bench ruled.

“Mere pendency of criminal cases against a citizen was no ground to deny him freedom to travel within or out of Pakistan. Such an action would be violative of Article 4, 10-A, 14 and 15 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973,” the bench observed, adding that nowhere the law requires that on naming of a person in FIR, his name should be put in PCL, PNIL or ECL.

The bench also referred to famous judgment of Supreme Court of Pakistan of 2017 in Ms Ayyan Ali case, wherein the apex court had observed that mere pendency of a criminal case couldn’t furnish a justification for prohibiting her (Ms Ayyan Ali’s) movement.

The respondents in their comments had stated that the name of the petitioner was placed on PCL on May 26, 2023 on recommendation of AIG operations, Islamabad police which was also endorsed by the Islamabad chief commissioner and ministry of interior as the petitioner was charged in FIRs registered Margalla and Golra police stations. Similarly, his name was placed in other lists on basis of other cases registered against him in Punjab.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2025