ISLAMABAD: The Isla­mabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday ordered the removal of Pakistan Teh­reek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Zartaj Gul from the no-fly list and called for an inquiry into the 2022 arrest of former minister Dr Shireen Mazari in a corruption case.

Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani issued these orders in their respective courts.

Justice Jahangiri, while allowing Ms Gul’s petition, stated that there was no plausible reason or justification for placing the petitioner’s name on the Passport Control List (PCL).

“Respondent No. 3 [Director General, Immigration and Passports Control] is directed to remove the name of the petitioner from the PCL within a period of one week,” he said.

Orders fresh inquiry into Shireen Mazari’s arrest

According to the court’s record, Ms Gul’s name was placed on the PCL based on the Punjab Home Department’s recommendations due to her involvement in FIRs registered at DG Khan police stations.

Her counsel argued that she had already secured bail in these cases and was cooperating with the investigation.

The judge noted that since Ms Gul had been granted bail, she was neither a fugitive nor an absconder but was undergoing legal proceedings in accordance with the law. He subsequently ordered her name to be removed from the PCL.

Meanwhile, Justice Kayani declared Ms Mazari’s arrest illegal and directed the Secretary Establishment and Punjab Home Department to investigate the officials responsible for her arrest.

Ms Mazari was arrested on May 21, 2022, by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) in a graft case. The then IHC chief justice, Athar Minallah, ordered her release in a late-night proceeding and called for an inquiry into the matter.

A committee, including former Lahore High Court judge Abdul Shakoor Parach, former federal secretary Saif Chattha, and former inspector general Naeem Khan, conducted an inquiry, but Justice Kayani found the report unsatisfactory.

He has now ordered the Establishment Division and the Home Department to re-investigate the matter.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2024