Passport authorities warned of contempt for not following court orders

On Monday, the Islamabad High Court issued a stern warning to the Immigration and Passports Directorate, warning it faces contempt proceedings if it fails to follow court orders to remove certain citizens' names from the Passport Control List (PCL). Justice Mohammad Azam Khan expressed serious concern over the authorities' failure to comply despite clear instructions to remove the petitioners' names from the list.

Afnan Khan, Khurram Shahzad, and Hadi Hussain each filed contempt petitions. Their counsel informed the court that despite the court's orders, the petitioners' names continued to appear on the PCL, leaving them no choice but to pursue contempt proceedings. The court directed the Director General of Immigration and Passports, Mohammad Ali Randhawa, to appear in person.

The court heard that numerous contempt petitions concerning the non-implementation of its orders were pending. Counsel stated that around 16 such petitions were pending before Justice Khan alone, while over 100 similar petitions were before the Islamabad High Court. The Ministry of Interior had formed a committee to examine PCL-related cases.

Justice Khan questioned the committee's legal authority to adjudicate over a judicial order, stating that it could not scrutinize or sit as an appeal panel. The counsel clarified that the committee's role was to decide whether a person's name should remain on the PCL. He added that the committee had ruled on around 346 cases and that the minutes of meetings were still pending.

The directorate's lawyer sought two days' time, claiming the order concerning Afnan Khan had already been implemented. The petitioners' counsel disputed this, arguing that instead of acting on the court's orders, the matter had been subject to bureaucratic delays, amounting to a mockery of the court's directives. The hearing was adjourned until the next week.