LHC seeks report on citizen’s alleged offloading despite valid visa

The Lahore High Court on Monday directed a federal law officer to obtain instructions from the relevant authorities and submit a report by July 22 on a petition challenging the alleged offloading of a citizen despite his possession of a valid visit visa.

Justice Farooq Haider issued the directive while hearing a petition filed by Mahmood-ur-Rehman.

Advocate Rao Abdul Jabbar appeared on behalf of the petitioner and argued that no criminal case had been registered against his client and that there was no legal restriction preventing him from travelling abroad.

According to the petition, Mahmood-ur-Rehman had obtained a valid visit visa for Cameroon and arrived at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport to board his flight.

The petitioner’s counsel alleged that Federal Investigation Agency immigration officials took possession of his client’s passport and boarding pass at the airport without providing a lawful reason.

He said the documents were returned only after the flight had departed and that the passport had been stamped to show that the passenger had been offloaded.

The counsel contended that his client had been prevented from travelling despite holding valid travel documents and facing no criminal proceedings or legal travel restrictions.

The petition described the offloading as unlawful and sought directions restraining the authorities from harassing Mahmood-ur-Rehman or preventing him from travelling abroad on a valid visit visa.

After hearing the preliminary arguments, the court directed the federal law officer to seek instructions from the authorities concerned and submit a report at the next hearing on July 22.