Blocking of passports: officials pass buck to interior ministry
Interestingly, geo fencing was used to identify the alleged rioters active in a particular area on May 9 and May 10 of 2023. As a result, dozens of people — including employees of government and private organizations, whose workplaces were located in those localities and who used phones during rioting — faced blacklisting of passports.
A number of these people came to know that their passports have been blocked only when they arrived at the airport to fly to foreign destinations or went to the passport office for renewal of their documents. Dozens of such people have now approached the Lahore High Court (LHC).
While hearing these petitions, the LHC has summoned passport officials along with records.
In many of these cases, passport authorities have already submitted records to the court showing that the passports have been blacklisted. The Passport and Immigration Department told the LHC that the task of blacklisting passports does not fall under their jurisdiction and that the Ministry of Interior includes and removes names from the blacklist and the Exit Control List (ECL).
They claimed that the names of the petitioners were added to the blacklist due to their alleged involvement in May 9 incidents. Those individuals whose names are on the blacklist or whose passports have expired cannot renew their document until their names are removed from the blacklist.
Violent protests broke out across the country after the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan on May 9, 2023.
During the turmoil, attacks were carried out on 39 military installations across the country between 3pm and 7pm of May 9. Most of these attacks — 23 — occurred in Punjab, followed by 8 in K-P, 7 in Sindh and one in Balochistan.
Major military facilities attacked included the GHQ in Rawalpindi, the Corps Commander's House in Lahore, the Mianwali Air Force Base, and ISI offices in Faisalabad, Sargodha, and Rawalpindi.
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Express Tribune
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PTI faces internal rift over protest plans
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Express Tribune
10 hours ago
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PTI faces internal rift over August 5 protest plans
Listen to article The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is grappling with internal divisions over the timeline and strategy for a nationwide protest aimed at securing the release of its jailed founder, former prime minister Imran Khan. The discord, primarily between the party's central leadership and its Punjab chapter, has escalated tensions as the proposed August 5 protest date approaches, marking two years since Khan's imprisonment. The central leadership — including Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur — has advocated for a 90-day campaign culminating in a decisive protest, emphasising a strategic build-up to maximise impact. Gandapur, speaking at a Lahore press conference on July 13, described the movement as a 'do-or-die' effort to challenge what PTI calls a 'fascist regime' and to secure Khan's release. Read More: Aleema Khan welcomes PTI Parliamentarians' unity at Lahore meeting He stressed that the campaign would involve mobilising supporters across every district and tehsil, peaking by August 5, after which a new phase would be announced. In contrast, PTI Punjab Chief Organizer Aliya Hamza Malik has firmly backed an immediate protest on August 5, aligning with a call attributed to Imran Khan via his sister, Aleema Khan. Malik has reportedly threatened to resign if the party deviates from this date, highlighting a lack of coordination with the central leadership. Sources indicate that Malik has already directed Punjab's party organisation to prepare for the August 5 protest, mobilising workers in districts such as Okara, Toba Tek Singh, Pakpattan, Faisalabad, and Chiniot. 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Business Recorder
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‘Political repression' in Pakistan: PTI's Zulfi Bukhari to testify before US Congress body
KARACHI: PTI leader Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari, a former aide to ex-premier Imran Khan, is set to offer testimony on 'political repression' in Pakistan before the United States Congress' Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, it emerged on Monday. According to its website, the bipartisan commission was established in 2008 and is charged with promoting, defending and advocating for international human rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant human rights instruments. The commission's hearing notice states that the session will take place on Tuesday (tomorrow) at 3:30pm (12:30am PKT on Wednesday) and will 'examine the government of Pakistan's persecution of opposition political figures and journalists, and its actions to control media communications and prevent free and fair elections in Pakistan'. The session is open to the public and the media. 'Many date the current phase of repression in Pakistan to 2022, when, with the involvement of the military, popular Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted, and soon after, arrested, convicted of corruption and imprisoned,' the notice read. 'Parliamentary elections in February 2024 were, according to the US State Department, marked by 'undue restrictions on freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly', as well as 'electoral violence, and restrictions on the exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms',' it added. The commission provided a list of witnesses who would provide testimony during Tuesday's hearing. Besides Bukhari, the list includes Amnesty International's Advocacy Director for Europe and Central Asia, Ben Linden; Perseus Strategies Managing Director Jared Genser; and Afghanistan Impact Network founder Sadiq Amini. A press release from the commission's co-chairman, Republican Congressman Christopher Smith, who will chair the session, said the meeting would 'discuss the government of Pakistan's ongoing political repression, the US response, and offer recommendations for Congress'. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
