ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday sought comments from the Directorate General Immigration and Passports and the federal government on a petition challenging the non-renewal of the passport of Arshad Khan, popularly known as ‘Arshad Chaiwala’.

Justice Umair Majeed Malik issued notices to the Director General Immigration and Passports and the Federation through the Interior Secretary on the petition filed by Mr Khan, who rose to fame after his photograph while working at a tea stall in Islamabad went viral on social media.

During the hearing, Barrister Umar Ijaz Gilani appeared on behalf of the petitioner and contended that his client was a well-known entrepreneur who had promoted Pakistani culture globally.

The counsel submitted that the authorities had failed to renew the petitioner’s passport despite the passage of almost a year since he had applied for its renewal.

According to the petition, Arshad Khan applied for renewal of his passport on August 20, 2025, but the document had not been issued to him despite repeated efforts.

The counsel told the court that the petitioner’s identity card had been cleared by the NADRA Verification Board and his CNIC was currently active.

He contended that there was no justification for withholding the petitioner’s passport when his identity had already been verified by the relevant authority.

Barrister Gilani further submitted that the petitioner had approached the office of the Interior Secretary several times seeking issuance of the renewed passport, but received no positive response from the authorities. He said the petitioner subsequently served a legal notice on the Interior Secretary, but no response was received.

The counsel argued that the continued refusal to issue the passport was illegal and amounted to a violation of the petitioner’s fundamental rights.

He requested the court to direct the concerned authorities to issue a renewed passport to Arshad Khan.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2026