The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday directed relevant authorities to submit a report regarding the travel ban imposed on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Zartaj Gul. The IHC bench, led by Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, also instructed the concerned officer to appear before the court in the next hearing.

Zartaj Gul, through her counsel, filed a petition stating that despite being granted bail in 47 cases, including 21 terrorism-related charges, her name had not been removed from the Exit Control List (ECL). The petition noted that her name was initially removed from the ECL but was later reinstated. Gul’s legal team requested the court to direct authorities to remove her name from the list.

The federal government, the Ministry of Interior, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the Punjab Home Department, and Islamabad police were named as parties in the petition.

In a related development, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Islamabad on December 14 discharged 32 suspects arrested in connection with violent protests at D-Chowk during a PTI protest. The court’s decision came after the police failed to present sufficient evidence against the suspects, who had been arrested on November 25.

The police had sought a 30-day physical remand for the suspects, but the court rejected the request. The suspects’ lawyer, Anser Kiani, argued that the accused were innocent laborers picked up from their homes and wrongfully detained. He also pointed out that the police had failed to conduct an identification parade.