The Sindh High Court on Thursday suspended the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) notification of a flight ban on social activist Jibran Nasir and his wife Mansha Pasha. SHC issued directives to FIA on a plea filed by lawyer Jibran Nasir against an “unlawful restriction” on his travel. The court action came after the activist revealed that he was stopped from travelling to Dubai by the FIA last month. The petition filed by Nasir in court named the federal and Sindh governments, directorate general of Immigration and Passports, secretary of aviation ministry and FIA director general as respondents.

 It stated that the Constitution protected the fundamental rights of the petitioner and “any violation of the fundamental rights of the petitioner without any due course of law is illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional”. “It is a fundamental right of a person to travel abroad and the same is protected under Articles 4, 9, 14, 15, 18 and 25 of the Constitution, which pertains to the important issue of personal liberty, right to due process and dignity, freedom to travel and profession. Hence, any restriction on a person to leave the country or enter the country is equivalent to imposing physical restraint on a person which is in violation of fundamental rights,” the plea contended.

 
Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)