PTI’s Taimur Saleem Jhagra on Friday claimed that he was barred from clearing immigration and boarding his flight to the United States at the Peshawar airport.
The former KP finance minister said in a post on
“At the airport, I was told that my name was on the PNIL (Provisional National Identification List) and therefore my passport was inactive,” Jhagra wrote. “FIA staff said they would not have been able to even comply with court orders unless the computer system they had was up to date with the status.”
He said there is a lack of transparency with the PNIL and questioned who can add and remove names from the list and for what purpose.
“I had written to [the] secretary [of] Interior on November 4, anticipating this, personally delivered the letter to the Ministry. In ten days I did not receive a response,” Jhagra added.
“I also went to court, and even had a hearing in the Peshawar High Court today, to highlight the absurdity of people buying tickets and booking trips and then not being allowed to travel on a whim.”
According to Jhagra, the deputy attorney general was present at the hearing and when asked why Jhagra’s name appeared in the PNIL, he replied that the Ministry of Home Affairs could only explain it in writing.
“In court, I saw at least two other MNAs also trying to clear their names from the no-fly list, including [Sher Ali Arbab]” he wrote. “I was going to travel as part of a parliamentary delegation to COP30 in Brazil. Think about the amount of time wasted in court on issues like this.”
“Ironically, I have left the country and re-entered at least six times since June 2024, without any problems, since I consult part-time. Since the last time I returned, I have not even violated a red light or a highway speed limit,” he noted.
Jhagra added that while he had been allowed to travel on a previous trip, his 18-year-old daughter had not been able to fly abroad to study because her name was added to the PNIL. In his post, he noted that the PHC intervened and his name was removed from the list.
“I certainly hope that the future of democracy in Pakistan is bright at some point, but with all these dolls around, the current fate of democracy is quite dark! And that is why we must fight for it!” he concluded.
Earlier this month, Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed was banned from traveling to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah, despite Lahore High Court (LHC) directives allowing him to travel abroad.
According to a court order dated October 30, the ALD leader’s name had been removed from the Exit Control List (ECL), following his involvement in several cases on May 9. The court had ordered the relevant authorities to allow him to travel.
However, in a video message posted on social media platform
