PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Friday allowed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and Member National Assembly (MNA) Amjad Ali to travel abroad once, while hearing a petition seeking removal of his name from the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL).
A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Sadiq Ali Momand heard the case. During the proceedings, counsel for the petitioner, Alam Khan Adinzai, and an assistant attorney general representing the federal government appeared before the court.
The petitioner’s counsel informed the bench that Amjad Ali, an MNA from Swat, had been placed on the PNIL, which was preventing him from travelling to the United States to attend an international summit. The counsel stated that his client was scheduled to depart to represent Pakistan at a legislative summit involving parliamentarians.
Justice Syed Arshad Ali observed that if the petitioner was travelling for a seminar, there should be no objection from the government, as he would be representing the country. The assistant attorney general suggested referring the matter to a review committee for a decision.
However, the petitioner’s counsel urged the court to decide the matter promptly, citing the urgency of the scheduled visit.
After hearing arguments, the court granted Amjad Ali one-time permission to travel abroad and issued a written order.
According to the order, the petitioner has been allowed to travel to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Program for young parliamentarians scheduled from March 28 to April 20. The court directed that this concession be granted only once. It further stated that the petitioner must obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the speaker of the National Assembly for any future foreign travel.
According to the written judgment, the petitioner had earlier been offloaded at the airport when attempting to travel for the same program. The assistant attorney general informed the court that the petitioner’s name had been placed on the PNIL on the recommendation of intelligence agencies, alleging involvement in anti-state activities and registration of FIRs against him.
The court noted that a report regarding the petitioner’s alleged involvement in criminal cases had been sought in the previous hearing. The court held that the petitioner was not travelling for any activity detrimental to the integrity of Pakistan and directed the authorities to allow him to travel once, subject to compliance with the conditions outlined in the order.
