LHC declares law blacklisting passports null and void

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday declared the law relating to the blacklisting of a passport as null and void, and said there was no clause in the Passport Act that allowed such a measure, reported 24NewsHD TV channel. 

Justice Tariq Salim Sheikh gave the decision on the petition filed by Sheikh Shan Ilahi and Syed Anwar Shah against the non-renewal of their passports. 

“The federal government, under article 8 of the Act, can either confiscate a citizen’s passport or cancel it, but cannot blacklist it,” the judge said, adding there was no provision in the Passport Rules, 1974 under which the document could be blacklisted.  

“Even the government’s act of cancellation of somebody’s passport is subject to court’s review,” he explained.

References to the superior courts’ decisions in Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders’, namely Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif, cases were also made part of the verdict by the LHC.  

The court further said in its decision that the deputy attorney general had expressed his serious concern in case passport’s blacklisting law was annulled.   

The decision stressed the role of the parliament to remove flaws from a law, if any. “Protection of basic human rights is must for the establishment of a free society. The protection of these constitutional rights is a priority when it comes to a situation wherein a state is mulling interfering in a citizen’s life on mere suspicion,” read the verdict. 

Giving the reference of Supreme Court’s (SC) decision in PML-N’s case in 2007, the LHC said in it the apex court had clearly laid down that when confronted with a situation where there was a clash between fundamental human rights and the state’s intervention, the former will stay. “Basic human rights are the eyes and ears of a democratic and free society,” read the decision.   

Furthermore, the judge, while reading out the verdict, said that travelling had now been universally accepted as a fundamental right of a human being.  “Article 15 of the constitution of Pakistan gives to the citizens the right not only to live in Pakistan, but also travel freely and settle wherever he or she likes within the country. And that the state has no right to wield those powers which have not been granted to it under the constitution,” the court said, and added that from now on any such use of power by the state without the application of the mind will be deemed to be unlawful. 

“The state can only bar a person from travelling abroad under the Exit Control Ordinance, 1981,” said Justice Tariq Salim Sheikh, and added that it could put the names of only those people on the Exit Control List (ECL) who had been nominated in cases of serious nature.   

Moreover, the decision read, a government was bound to issue a show-cause notice to its citizen two weeks prior to the cancellation of his or her passport. “The federal government can cancel the passport of only that person without notice who has worked against the national interests. The government neither ordered the petitioners to return the passports nor cancelled their documents. In fact, the government acted against these individuals under the Para 51 of the Passport and Visa Manual, which was against the spirit of law-making. Reporter: Malik Ashraf