PESHAWAR: Despite the court order, Senior PTI leader Senator Azam Swati was barred from leaving the country at Peshawar Airport, while his name was not removed from PNICL.
The FIA stopped Azam Swati at Peshawar Airport when he was leaving for a foreign trip. FIA officials said that his name is included in the PNICL list, on the basis of which he was stopped.
Senator Azam Swati’s lawyers have taken the stand that this move is a violation of the clear orders of the Supreme Court, as the Peshawar High Court had disposed of the case by accepting the petition to remove his name from the ECL and PCL yesterday.
During the hearing, the Assistant Attorney General and the FIA representative had assured the court that Azam Swati’s name is no longer included in any stop list and he is free to travel abroad. However, despite this, stopping his travel is a clear violation of the court order.
Azam Swati’s legal representatives have announced that they will file a contempt of court petition in the Peshawar High Court today so that action can be taken against the relevant institutions for violating the court order.
This incident indicates that despite court orders, some institutions are restricting the rights of citizens based on unclear lists or procedures, which is not only a violation of constitutional rights but also tantamount to challenging judicial authority.
It was not a single occasion that Azam Swati was stopped at Airport, earlier to this he was stopped three times when Azam Swati is being denied to leave the country. The court order violation has raised serious questions over the legal system of the country.
Read also: Azam Swati challenges inclusion of his name in passport control list
