PCL: Elahi, family seek removal of names

Chaudhry Parvez Elahi and family seek removal from PCL at Lahore High Court, citing political victimization.

LAHORE:

PTI Central President and former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, along with his son and daughter-in-law, have approached the Lahore High Court (LHC), seeking directives to remove their names from the Passport Control List (PCL).

Petitioners Parvez Elahi, his son Rasikh Elahi, and Zahra Elahi (Rasikh Elahi's wife) filed separate petitions with the LHC. They named as respondents the federal government, through the secretary of the Ministry of Interior, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), through its director general in Islamabad and its director in Lahore, and the Passport and Immigration Department, through its director general in Islamabad.

In his petition, Elahi stated that he and his family intended to visit Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah.

The former Punjab chief minister stated that he discovered his name had been 'capriciously' placed on the PCL by state authorities 'without any lawful justification or reason'. He described this 'arbitrary and unlawful act' as a 'clear and unfortunate case of political victimization'.

Elahi maintained that he had submitted an application to the respondent, the Federation of Pakistan, through the secretary of the Ministry of Interior, requesting the removal of his name from the PCL. However, he said, the respondent had not replied to his application.

The petitioners requested the court to declare the placement of their names on the PCL as illegal and unlawful, and to issue directions to the authorities concerned to permanently restrain them from placing their names on the list.