PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday issued notices to relevant authorities to seek their response to writ petitions for placing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders on the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL).
Hearing the petitions, a two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel issued notices to the federal government, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and other relevant authorities.
The bench sought their response to the writ petitions that were filed against the inclusion of the names of former deputy speaker and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Mahmood Jan and several others in the PNIL.
The petitions were filed by Mahmood Jan, Shafiullah, Amjad Ali, Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Fazal Hakim and Khadija Salman Shah, challenging the decision to place their names on the PNIL, which barred them from travelling abroad.
During the hearing, the petitioners’ counsel Ali Gauhar Durrani, Imad Khan and Alam Khan Adeenzai informed the court that their clients’ names had been included in the PNIL without any justification, preventing them from travelling overseas.
Representing the federation, the assistant attorney general told the court that the names had been placed on the list on the recommendation of the FIA.
At this, the petitioners’ counsel argued that the same stance had been taken in the case earlier as well, but no report had been submitted to the court.
During the proceedings, Justice Syed Arshad Ali asked the authorities to explain the reasons for placing the petitioners’ names on the PNIL.
The counsel for the petitioners also informed the bench that a detailed judgment on the matter had previously been issued by Justice Sahibzada Asadullah of the PHC.
After hearing the arguments, the court sought reports from the relevant authorities and adjourned the hearing.
