A Pakistani Citizen Mubashir Ali (Character name), who works at a restaurant in a Gulf country, arrived in Pakistan three months ago. After spending 10 to 15 days with his family in Pakistan, he arrived at the Islamabad airport to return to the Gulf country.
However, he was stopped from traveling at the airport because his name was on the Passport Control List (PCL).For Mubashir Ali, it was surprising that his name was on the PCL because he had gone abroad legally and had returned to Pakistan just 15 days ago.
Mubashir Ali’s name is on the PCL and he is not eligible to travel abroad. He now fears that his work permit will be canceled for not returning to work and he may also be banned from visiting the Gulf country.
Like Mubashir Ali, dozens of citizens have come forward claiming that they returned to Pakistan on leave from working abroad, but are not being allowed to return abroad once their leave ends.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s Immigration and Passport Department is rejecting the claim that citizens working abroad are being prevented from traveling without any reason.
When contacted by Media, Director General Immigration and Passport Mustafa Jamal Qazi said, “In recent days, many citizens have been deported from different countries who were involved in some kind of illegal activity there and the Passport Department has included the names of such citizens in the PCL after receiving information from different countries.
” He said, “Pakistan has been receiving complaints from Middle Eastern countries that Pakistani citizens are involved in illegal activities by misusing their passports. The Passport Office has taken this action against specific individuals to resolve these complaints and then visa-related issues for ordinary citizens.”
The Director General of Immigration and Passports further said that ‘the Passport Department has deported such citizens to Pakistan by putting their names in the PCL and now they cannot travel abroad.’
Mustafa Jamal Qazi, while explaining the second reason for including names in the PCL, said that ‘Pakistani citizens who have been found involved in going abroad illegally have also been stopped from going abroad by taking legal action against them.’
Regarding the issue of the names of citizens going abroad being present in the PCL, Major (Retd) Barrister Muhammad Sajid Majeed, an expert in diplomatic and immigration laws, said that ‘travel restrictions are being implemented on citizens going abroad from Pakistan based on various reasons.’
He further said that ‘the Federal Government of Pakistan has also imposed travel restrictions on citizens involved in promoting prohibited content on social media, affiliation with a banned organization and other illegal activities.’
Barrister Muhammad Sajid made another important point. Highlighting the issue, he said, “Workers going abroad from Pakistan do not obtain insurance from the Protectorate of Immigration, which is a major reason for their deportation from abroad.”
“If citizens have obtained direct employment abroad and have not made it possible to obtain insurance from the Protectorate of Immigration, they may face problems abroad, and then in case of deportation, their names are added to the PCL, and travel restrictions are imposed on them.
He said that ‘by making it possible to obtain insurance from the Protectorate of Immigration, citizens can get insurance of up to 1 million rupees for 2500 rupees, which can prove beneficial for them in case of an accident abroad.’
The expert in diplomatic and immigration laws added that ‘these days, sensitive agencies provide information about citizens involved in prohibited activities on social media or any other platform to the Home Department, after which their names are silently put in the PCL and then they cannot travel abroad.
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