FIA to face action for blocking passports illegally: PHC

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Friday said action would be taken against the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) if it illegally blocked the passport of any citizen or added his name to the stop list without any proof.

A single bench of Justice Shakeel Ahmad was hearing the petition of Member Provincial Assembly Pir Musawir Shah. His lawyer told the court that his client was a member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly whose passport had been blocked without any reason. The additional director, Legal, FIA, Abdul Rahman Afridi told the court that the passport was blocked on the demand of a security agency. Justice Shakeel Ahmad remarked if the FIA would illegally block somebody’s passport. He directed the FIA not to block anybody’s passport and stop his name on the stop list without any proof or else action would be taken against it. He said that the FIA must not carry out illegal orders and directed it to unblock the passport of the petitioner.