IHC Gives Passport Authorities Until Tomorrow to Remove Citizen’s Name from PCL
ISLAMABAD:The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has given passport and immigration authorities until tomorrow to remove a citizen’s name from the Passport Control List (PCL), warning that contempt of court proceedings will begin if its order is not implemented.
During the hearing, Justice Azam Khan expressed strong displeasure over the authorities’ failure to comply with the court’s earlier directive.
“If the court’s order is not implemented today, contempt of court proceedings will begin tomorrow,” the judge remarked, directing officials to return with confirmation that the citizen’s name had been removed from the list.
Earlier, the court had summoned Interior Secretary Ahmed Raza Sarwar, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General Usman Anwar, and Director General Immigration and Passports Muhammad Ali Randhawa in person in connection with a contempt petition over the non-implementation of its order.
During the proceedings, a deputy director of Immigration and Passports informed the court that the matter was pending before a review committee.
Justice Azam Khan expressed dissatisfaction with the explanation, questioning the authorities’ approach and asking whether merely referring a matter to a committee was sufficient to justify non-compliance with a judicial order.
Officials responded that referring such cases to a review committee was part of the established procedure.
The judge questioned what mechanism was available to authorities after a court had issued a clear directive and warned that further contempt proceedings could have serious consequences. He also directed that the director general be called to address the matter.
The Islamabad High Court had previously ordered the removal of citizen Wajahat Hussain’s name from the Passport Control List.
The court’s latest directive gives the relevant authorities until the following day to comply, failing which contempt proceedings may be initiated.
