Freedom of movement: Interior ministry told to lift Afaq Ahmed’s travel ban

Curbs lifted after Sindh police special branch denied request to put his name on ECL.

KARACHI: Mohajir Qaumi Movement- Haqiqi (MQM-H) Chief Afaq Ahmed won his case against travel ban, as the Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered the interior ministry on Friday to remove his name from the Exit Control List.

Justice Ghulam Sarwar Korai, who headed the bench, passed this order after the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) blamed the Sindh police special branch for suggesting the travel ban, which the latter then denied.

The division at the bench gave this direction while hearing a petition filed by Ahmed against the restriction on him for travelling abroad.



He had approached the high court, submitting that he had applied for a passport on January 1, 2012, for going abroad to perform Umrah. But, the FIA director for passport and immigration informed him that his name had been placed on the ECL, thus he could not be issued with a passport.

The restriction on the petitioner’s travel is a clear violation of Articles 4, 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution as he is entitled to free movement, argued the petitioner’s lawyer, Hashmat Khalid.

He maintained that the petitioner is neither involved in anti-state activities nor did he cause any loss to the national exchequer but he was still being victimised on a political basis.

On Friday, an additional director (law) of the FIA filed a statement, saying that the special branch of Sindh police had provided them a list of 214 persons belonging to the MQM-H, including Ahmed, to place their names on the ECL. After that, Ahmed’s name was placed on the ECL in 1998.

On the other hand, the special branch’s superintendent, Zain Ali Shah, also placed an official letter before the court, denying that the list of 214 people had been issued from the special branch.

On this, the bench members observed that there is no justification to place petitioner’s name on the ECL as the FIA and special branch police have categorically feigned ignorance with regards to it. “The petitioner is thus entitled to proceed abroad and perform Umrah,” they added.

The bench directed the interior ministry to remove Ahmed’s name from the ECL.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2014.