PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court on Friday declared illegal the government’s move to place the name of provincial higher education minister Meena Khan on the Passport Control List (PCL), ruling that the constitutional right to free movement of an individual can’t be restricted merely on the basis of the registration of FIRs.

A bench consisting of Justice Wiqar Ahmad and Justice Inamullah Khan accepted Meena’s petition seeking the court’s directives to the respondents, including the interior ministry and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), to remove his name from travel restriction lists, including PCL, and allow him to travel abroad.

On the order of the court, the government had submitted certain confidential documents related to the petitioner in a sealed envelope.

The government claimed that the petitioner’s name had been placed on the PCL on June 5, 2026, on the basis of a report submitted by security agencies.

Rules free movement can’t be restricted merely on registration of FIRs

“The report was produced in a sealed envelope, which was opened and perused by the Court before being returned to learned Deputy Attorney General,” the bench pointed out.

It added that a perusal of the report revealed that it contained only general allegations to the effect that the petitioner is involved in anti-state activities and that certain FIRs had been registered against him.

The bench, however, observed that the respondents failed to produce any material showing that the petitioner had been convicted in any of said criminal cases.

“It is repeatedly held by this Court in a number of cases that mere registration of criminal cases, in absence of a conviction or declaration of a person as a proclaimed offender, is not sufficient to curtail the fundamental right to freedom of movement, particularly where the accused has already been admitted to bail by the competent court.”

“The respondents were unable to demonstrate that the petitioner has either been declared a proclaimed offender or convicted in any criminal case. In these circumstances, the petitioner’s constitutional right to free movement cannot be restricted merely on the basis of registration of FIRs,” the court ruled.

The bench in its eight-page judgment also referred to the superior court verdicts.

The petitioner’s counsel, Bashir Khan Wazir, said that his client was provincial minister for higher education, pro-chancellor of public sector universities as well as minister of local government department.

He said that the petitioner had been invited by the German Embassy to participate in a joint research project at the University of Tubingen.

The lawyer pointed out that the federal government had placed his name on travel restriction lists, which was challenged by the petitioner in an earlier petition.

However, he contended that in response to that earlier petition, the federal government had informed a bench headed by Chief Justice S.M Attique Shah that his name was only on the PNIL (Provisional National Identification List) and no other list.

The counsel contended that the bench had granted interim relief to the petitioner on ordered removal of his name from the PNIL on condition of furnishing two surety bonds of Rs one million each.

He added that the court had permitted the petitioner to travel to Germany to attend the program there.

Mr Wazir said that when the petitioner reached the Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar on June 7, he was informed that his name was on the PCL and that his passport had been blocked.

He added that the petitioner was prevented from travelling abroad despite the court’s clear orders.

The lawyer argued that the respondents, despite their earlier statement before the court, subsequently placed his name in the PCL with mala fide intent to deprive him of his lawful right to travel abroad and to discharge his official responsibilities on behalf of the KP government.

He argued that the act of the government was in violation of constitutional provisions guaranteeing freedom of movement.

Deputy attorney general Atif Nazir appeared along with FIR deputy directors Asghar Jamal and Shahbaz Noor and opposed the plea of Meena Khan stating that his name was included in the PCL on the basis of reports of intelligence agencies regarding his activities.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2026