IHC Strikes Down Passport Rule Used to Offload Passengers from Flights

The Islamabad High Court has ruled that citizens cannot be stopped from travelling abroad without the fulfilment of mandatory legal requirements. Justice Raja Inam Amin Minhas declared Rule 22(2)(b) of the Passport Rules, 2021, unconstitutional to the extent that it permitted adding names to the Passport Control List (PCL) on agency recommendations alone. The judgment was delivered in a petition filed by a citizen, Moeenuddin, who was barred from travelling for Umrah. The court has ordered his name to be removed from the PCL.