The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday directed relevant authorities to provide a report on the travel ban imposed on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Zartaj Gul. The court, led by Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, also instructed the concerned officer to appear at the next hearing.
Zartaj Gul, through her legal counsel, filed a petition stating that despite being granted bail in 47 cases, including 21 terrorism-related charges, her name remained on the Exit Control List (ECL). The petition mentioned that her name was initially removed from the list but later reinstated. Gul’s legal team requested the court to order the removal of her name from the ECL.
The petition named the federal government, the Ministry of Interior, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the Punjab Home Department, and Islamabad police as parties in the case.
In another development, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad on December 14 discharged 32 suspects arrested in connection with violent protests at D-Chowk during a PTI demonstration. The court made the decision after the police failed to present sufficient evidence against the suspects, who had been arrested on November 25.
The police had requested a 30-day physical remand for the suspects, but the court denied it. The suspects’ lawyer, Anser Kiani, argued that the accused were innocent laborers wrongfully detained from their homes and pointed out that the police had not conducted an identification parade.
