Identity papers restored for British Pakistanis who heckled ex-CJP Faez Isa

• Govt drops cancellation process of "attackers" identity papers.
• In Nov 2024, 23 Pakistan origin protesters placed on PCL.
• PTI UK chapter had called for protest outside Middle Temple.

LONDON: The Ministry of Interior has restored the CNICs and passports of around two dozen British Pakistanis whose Pakistani identity papers were cancelled for allegedly attacking former chief justice Qazi Faez Isa.

Sources privy to the matter said that names of around two dozen Pakistanis, belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and based in the UK, have been restored to their normal status and the cancellation and termination process against their identity papers has been dropped, in a decision by the Pakistan government.

In early November last year, the interior ministry ordered the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) to immediately identify the "attackers" via the incident's footage and initiate legal action against them. Names of around 23 Pakistani origin protesters were identified, placed on the Passport Control List (PCL) and their CNIC cancelled for allegedly attacking the ex-CJP Isa. A letter was also sent to the British government requesting the extradition of these Pakistanis.

The PCL included names of PTI leaders Maleeka Bokhari, Abdullah M Kahloon and academic Rahman Anwar who had taken part in the protest against the former CJP but were not part of the incident when Isa’s car was stopped late in the evening.

According to the list available, the following names were added in the control list and their passports suspended but removed from the same now: Sadia Faheem, Faheem Gulzar, Maheen Faisal, Sidra Tariq and Haba Abdul Majeed, Waqas Chauhan, Mohsin Haider, Zameer Akram, Sardar Taimur, Muhammad Parvez Ali, Rukhsana Kausar, Sheikh Muhammad Jameel, Mahran Habib, Zuheer Ahmed, Rahman Anwar, Muhammad Sajid Khan, Khadija Kashif, Mohammad Naveed Afzal, Shahzad Qureshi, Sulaiman Ali Shah and Bilal Anwar too. Maheen Faisal had left London for Dubai over two years ago and has not been seen at any protest but her name was added in the list too.

"Further action will be taken after registering a first information report (FIR) in Pakistan. The government will cancel computerised national identity cards (CNICs) and passports of the attackers," Interior Minister Naqvi had announced. 

It was decided that the government would begin the process of cancelling the citizenship of those “attackers” and the relevant cases would be forwarded to the cabinet but last week it was decided that all action will be dropped.

The PTI's UK chapter had called for the protest outside the Middle Temple on 8th of November against the decision to call ex-CJP Isa to the Bench following his retirement. Close to 80 people attended the protest but that event ended peacefully.

Around 10 activists stayed on who later on tried to stop the car, banged on it, and tried to open the doors to get access to Isa and his wife Sarina — three hours after the main protest had ended.

As Isa's car — carrying the Pakistan High Commission diplomatic number plate – appeared from the Temple's exit door at around 10:20pm, PTI demonstrators made their way to the car, tried to stop it and shouted slogans against the jurist.

The former chief justice became the first Pakistani judge to get elected as a bencher and be invited to the Middle Temple, a prestigious legal institution in the United Kingdom (UK). It may be noted that the Middle Temple is where Isa studied law. His father was also a graduate of the institute.