ISLAMABAD
The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday suspended the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) notification about placing names of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s aides, including Shahzad Akbar, Shahbaz Gill and four others, on the ‘stop list’.
It is to mention that the FIA has introduced a system of ‘stop list’ during 2003 to stop unwanted people from trying to leave the country in the shortest possible time as placing someone’s name on Exit Control List takes a long time.
It has been reported that the FIA had a day ago placed six key members of the former PTI government — Gill; Akbar; Imran Khan’s focal person on digital media, Dr Arsalan Khalid; ex-PM Imran’s principal secretary Azam Khan; Punjab Anti Corruption Director-General Gohar Nafees; and Mohammad Rizwan — on the “stop list”. Any person placed on the “stop list” is not allowed to leave the country.
Invoking jurisdiction of the IHC on Tuesday, Shahzad Akbar urged the court restraining order to the FIA against imposing bar on him and others from travelling abroad.
During the proceedings, the IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah observed the court had already declared the “black list” illegal to which Akbar requested the bench to summon the FIA chief and inquire from him on whose directions his name was placed on the no-fly list.
He submitted that the concerned should proceed against him in case he has committed a crime. The court, while referring to Gill and Akbar, asked whether the duo had plans to go abroad by tomorrow. “We are seeking a reply from the FIA tomorrow,” Justice Minallah said.
In its written order, the court issued directives to the respondents to appear at 10.30am on Wednesday and explain “who had authorised in order to place names of the petitioners and other three officials closely associated with the former premier on the list.
“They are expected to satisfy the court that the action was not based on victimisation,” the court said in its order.
It further maintained that “the operation of the no fly list/PNIL to the extent of the petitioners and other three officials — Muhammad Azam Khan, Muhammad Gohar Nafees and Arsalan Khalid — shall remain suspended.”
It is pertinent to mention that national media reported that earlier, Akbar in his petition has made the Ministry of Interior, FIA director general, and FIA Immigration’s additional director general as respondents. The petitioner pointed out in the petition that his name was placed on the no-fly list “at about 1.55am”, just after voting on the no-confidence motion in the National Assembly had taken place, which he said “showed malafide on part of the respondents, who acted at the behest of someone behind the scene without having an inquiry of complaint by any party.”
He urged the court to declare the FIA’s act void and unconstitutional and order an inquiry into it.
In a statement after the hearing, Akbar said the court had sought replies from the FIA chief and the interior secretary by 10:30am on Wednesday, asking them why the names were placed on the list after voting on the no-trust move against former prime minister Imran Khan and on whose instruction these names were added since there was no government in place at the time.
