ISLAMABAD: Mohsin Dawar, a ruling coalition partner representing North Waziristan in the National Assembly, was on Sunday barred from flying to Tajikistan where he was supposed to attend a security conference, though he had ‘multiple time permission’ from the interior ministry to travel abroad since October 17.

According to the legislator, the Federal Investigation Agency stopped him at the Islamabad airport. The FIA works under administrative control of the interior ministry.

Mr Dawar indirectly blamed the federal government for being helpless and believed those behind the restriction were ‘more powerful than the present regime’. “Once again neutral Havaldar [sergeant] demonstrates that he has more authority than the federal government,” he tweeted.

Lawmaker believes those behind the move are more powerful than the govt

In a Twitter thread, the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement-linked MNA lamented that he was stopped from travelling even though his name had been removed by the federal cabinet from the Exit Control List for two months.

Terming the incident “outrageous”, the lawmaker shared a photo of an interior ministry memorandum, dated Oct 17, that granted him a “multiple time permission” to travel abroad for a period of 60 days.

A member of the Pakistan Democratic Movement, Mr Dawar had been permitted to attend a conference in Switzerland and was supposed to depart for Tajikistan to attend the 10th Herat Security Dialogue, being organised by Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies, in Dushanbe.

With this year’s theme of “Inclusive political system: the way forward”, the conference aims to strive towards bringing closer and clearer diverse views and analysis on Afghanistan.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2022