PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday directed the deputy attorney general (DAG) to ascertain why Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Higher Education, Meena Khan Afridi, was stopped from traveling abroad at the Bacha Khan International Airport despite court orders permitting his travel.
Chief Justice SM Attique Shah observed that if the minister’s name had been placed on any list other than the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL), he would have to file a separate petition about that.
During the hearing, the minister’s counsel, Bashir Khan Wazir, informed the court that PHC had granted his client permission to travel to Germany, but he was prevented from boarding his flight at Bacha Khan International Airport, Peshawar.
The chief justice asked why the minister had been stopped and whether any reason had been provided by the authorities. The counsel replied that his client had been detained at the airport for nearly two hours and was not informed of the reason for the restriction. He added that there was still time for the minister to undertake the trip.
Addressing the DAG, the chief justice ordered him to investigate the matter and determine whether the minister’s name appeared on any other travel-restriction list. The counsel pointed out that during the previous hearing, the deputy attorney general had submitted a report stating that the minister’s name was not included in any list other than the PNIL.
The court stated that if the minister’s name had been placed on another list, a separate petition would be required to challenge it.During the proceedings, the chief justice remarked to the minister, “Mr. Meena Khan, it appears you did not reach Germany.” The minister responded that, unfortunately, he had not been allowed to travel.
The minister informed the court that airport authorities had told him his name was included in both the Passport Control List (PCL) and the PNIL and that his passport had also been blocked.He maintained that the court order had only referred to the PNIL and had clearly stated that his name was not included on any other list. He alleged that after the court’s order, his name had been added to other lists on June 5.
The chief justice reiterated that if the minister’s name appeared on another list, a separate petition should be filed and the court would hear it. He added that the contempt of court petition would be examined separately and that responses would be sought from the relevant parties.The court directed the minister to file the necessary application for the travel restrictions and indicated that the matter would be heard the following day.
