ISLAMABAD – The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has declared it illegal to place individuals on the Passport Control List (PCL) solely because they were deported from a foreign country for overstaying their visa, and ordered the removal of a petitioner’s name from the list.
Justice Muhammad Asif issued a detailed four-page judgment in a case concerning overseas travel restrictions, directing authorities to remove the citizen’s name from the PCL.
The court held that deportation due to visa overstay alone does not justify the imposition of travel restrictions. It observed that such restrictions require the existence of a criminal offence, security concerns, or incontrovertible evidence.
In the ruling, Justice Asif stated that restricting a citizen’s constitutional right to travel abroad and seek employment without any criminal wrongdoing was unjustified. The judgment said the travel ban violated Articles 4, 9, 10-A, 15, 18, and 25 of the Constitution.
The court further noted that keeping a citizen’s name on a travel restriction list under such circumstances was contrary to fundamental rights and legal requirements.
According to the judgment, the federal government had argued that the citizen was deported from a Gulf country due to visa overstay and that his name was added to the Passport Control List under an existing policy.
The government maintained that the measure was intended to safeguard the visas of other Pakistani citizens and protect the country’s reputation abroad.
However, the Islamabad High Court rejected the justification and ordered the immediate removal of the petitioner’s name from the Passport Control List.
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