ISLAMABAD – Web Desk: The Islamabad High Court has delivered a significant verdict regarding foreign travel restrictions, ruling that deportation from another country for overstay alone does not justify imposing a travel ban on a citizen.
Justice Muhammad Asif issued a four-page detailed judgment, declaring the placement of a citizen’s name on the Passport Control List (PCL) over deportation for overstay as illegal, and ordered the removal of the citizen’s name from the list. The court ruled that a travel restriction requires the existence of a crime, security threat, or irrefutable evidence, stating that there is no justification for restricting a citizen’s constitutional right to travel abroad and earn a livelihood without an offense.
The court stated that the travel restriction measure violates Articles 4, 9, 10-A, 15, 18, and 25 of the Constitution, and keeping a citizen’s name on the travel restriction list violates fundamental rights and legal requirements. The federal government had informed the court that the citizen was deported from a Gulf country due to overstay, and the name was placed on the PCL under policy to protect other citizens’ visas and the country’s dignity.
