Justice Raja Inam Amin Minhas issued a written judgment on a petition filed by a citizen who was stopped from travelling abroad for Umrah. The court declared the relevant provision of Rule 22(2)(b) of the Passport Rules 2021 inconsistent with the Constitution and the Passport Act.
The court directed that copies of the judgment be sent to the Secretary Interior, Director General Immigration and Passports, and Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). It said the PCL must be maintained in accordance with the legal procedure prescribed under the Passport Act 1974 and the Passport Rules.
The court observed that placing a citizen’s name on the PCL requires clear legal authority and compliance with all relevant legal requirements. A person cannot be stopped from travelling abroad without fulfilling those requirements.
The court also ordered authorities to remove the name of the petitioner, identified as Moinuddin, from the PCL within 15 days.
According to the judgment, the petitioner had previously been deported from Saudi Arabia after serving a three-year sentence for dangerous driving. He completed his sentence and was deported, while his passport was neither cancelled nor confiscated.
The court noted that there was no pending case or inquiry against the petitioner and that he was not wanted by any agency. Despite holding a valid travel document and obtaining a visa to perform Umrah, he was stopped at the airport.
The court also expressed displeasure over the authorities’ failure to comply with an earlier order directing them to decide the petitioner’s application within one week. It said that merely labelling a subsequent document as a “speaking order” was insufficient when it did not identify the relevant legal provision, competent authority or applicable rule.
The judgment stressed that compliance with court orders is not a mere formality and directed the authorities to act according to the applicable legal framework.