IHC suspends flight ban on ex-PM Imran Khan's aides Shahbaz Gill, Shahzad Akbar, others

• IHC issues notification to interior secretary and DG FIA.
• Inquires about authority under which petitioners’ names had been placed on ‘stop list’.
• Justice Minaullah demands FIA prove this action wasn't an act of revenge.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Tuesday suspended the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) notification of a flight ban on six PTI leaders.

Earlier today, former PM aides Shahbaz Gill and Shahzad Akbar had approached the IHC, requesting the high court to dismiss the ban. 

Later, IHC's Chief Justice Athar Minaullah also suspended the ban against former principal secretary Azam Khan, Imran's ex-focal person on digital media Dr Arslan Khalid, and Mohammad Nafees Gohar.

The IHC issued a notification to the interior secretary and the director-general of the FIA, and further ordered them to reveal the authority under which the petitioners’ names had been placed on the ‘stop list’ — being on the list bars them from travelling abroad without permission.

Justice Minaullah further demanded the FIA provide proof that this action wasn't an act of revenge against ex-PM Imran Khan's aides.

On Sunday, the FIA placed the names of six key aides of former PM Imran Khan on a ‘stop list’.

PM's former principal secretary Azam Khan, ex-special assistant to PM on political communication Shahbaz Gill, ex-adviser to PM on interior and accountability Shahzad Akbar, Director-General Punjab Gohar Nafees, PTI's head of social media Dr Arsalan Khalid's and DG Federal Investigation Agency Punjab Zone Mohammad Rizwan's names had been added to the list.

The move was taken after PTI Chairman Imran Khan was removed from office through a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly, making him the first premier to be ousted through the move.

What is a 'stop list'

The FIA introduced a system of ‘stop list’ in 2003 to stop unwanted people from trying to leave the country in the shortest possible time as placing someone’s name on ECL takes a long time.