Gulalai’s travel ban case delayed

Her lawyer Babar Sattar argues before the court that she was not a member of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement

ISLAMABAD: A single-member bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), comprising Justice Aamer Farooque, has deferred a case to remove the name of activist Gulalai Ismail from the Exit Control List (ECL).

During Monday’s hearing, Ismail’s lawyer Babar Sattar argued before the court that she was not a member of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM). Moreover, he said that the government has not declared PTM as a proscribed outfit.

Sattar argued that if Ismail’s name had been included in the no-fly list because it was believed that she was a member of the PTM, then the government should put the names of all the others who are members of the movement.

Owing to the shortage of time, the court adjourned proceedings and will resume hearing the case today (Tuesday). 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th, 2019.