IHC Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani grants Latif Khosa permission to travel abroad, ordering the removal of his name from ECL

ISLAMABAD, Jan 09 (SABAH): The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has granted senior lawyer and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s member national assembly Sardar Muhammad Latif Khan Khosa permission to travel abroad, ordering the removal of his name from the Exit Control List (ECL).

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani presided over the hearing of Khosa’s petition, challenging his placement on the ECL.

During the hearing, the petitioner stated that his name was added to the Exit Control List (ECL) due to a case filed against him at the Secretariat police station in connection with a protest held outside the Supreme Court.

The court questioned the justification behind restricting his travel, given the minor nature of charges under Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Government prosecutors acknowledged that no charge sheet had been submitted in the case filed against Khosa for alleged protest activity outside the Supreme Court.

The court criticised the inclusion of names on the ECL without solid grounds, asking if thousands facing similar charges had also been barred from travel.

Sardar Latif Khosa informed the court that his earlier flight on January 5 was missed due to the restrictions. He now plans to travel to Canada.

The High Court directed Khosa to submit an affidavit in the trial court, ensuring his appearance whenever summoned. The session concluded with conditional approval of his travel request.

Earlier, in October, the Islamabad police had registered a terrorism case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Latif Khosa and 19 other lawyers for burning an effigy of a state institution’s head outside the Supreme Court. The charges were filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and other serious sections of the law.