IHC orders urgent removal of ex-PM aides from no-fly list

Justice Minallah expresses anger over FIA for not complying with his orders

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday ordered the immediate removal of former PM’s aides Mirza Shahzad Akbar and Shahbaz Gill from the “stop list”, expressing its ire over the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials for not complying with its orders to temporarily exclude their names from the no-fly list.

The court was hearing petition filed by Akbar and Gill a day earlier, requesting the high court to lift the ban.
The names of Azam Khan, the principal secretary to former PM Imran; former aides to the prime minister Gill and Akbar; FIA Punjab Director Muhammad Rizwan; Anti-Corruption Punjab Director General Gohar Nafees; and PTI’s social media team member Arsalan Khalid were placed on the no-fly list by the FIA earlier this week.

The FIA officials told the court that the names of the PTI members were placed on the "stop list" on April 8 amid the “unusual circumstances developing in the country”.

They added that the FIA Islamabad Zone had received a request to place their names on the “stop list”.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah remarked that was there a martial law imposed in the country.

The FIA officials responded that the names of the former PM’s aides were placed on the “watch list” as there were two inquiries registered against them.

Justice Minallah observed that when had the FIA become so “independent” that it had started initiating inquiries against government officials.

Akbar on the occasion said the court should ask the FIA officials whether or not they had placed the names of the civil servants against whom inquiries were initiated on the list.

Despite court orders, the notification was not suspended and the names are still on the “stop list”.

The FIA officials told the court that they had not received the orders on time as they had left the office early to offer Taraveeh prayers.

The IHC CJ remarked that the court had been observing the conduct of the FIA for two years and these tactics had become obsolete.

He asked the FIA officials to what law existed for placing a person’s name on the “stop list”.

Read IHC suspends flight ban on Gill, others

“The court will not allow this,” he added, telling the federal government to refrain from vindictive activities.
 He also directed the FIA director general not to "harass" anyone.

The FIA officials sought more time to submit their reply and the hearing was adjourned till April 18.
During the hearing on Tuesday, the IHC had suspended the FIA’s notification of a flight ban on Akbar and Gill.

Later, the IHC had also suspended the ban on the four other PTI leaders.

The court had noted that according to the petitioners, their names were placed on the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL) after the no-confidence vote against former premier Imran. They had argued that only those involved in heinous crimes could be placed on the list.