The Sindh High Court (SHC) has issued notices to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the defence and interior ministries, and and others after social activist Sammi Baloch was stopped by immigration control at Karachi Airport from flying abroad, it emerged on Tuesday.
According to a copy of the order issued by the SHC, notices were issued to the ministry of defence, the ministry of interior, the director general immigration and passport, the ministry of aviation, director general FIA, and the deputy attorney general after Sammi filed a petition against the move.
While speaking to the press outside the high court, Sammi’s lawyer, Muhammad Jibran Nasir, said that his client was stopped at the airport on Sunday (September 8) when she was leaving to attend an international conference in Belgium.
He said that Sammi had “exited” the airport initially but was stopped later.
“A person is only allowed to exit the country if they are not listed on the government of Pakistan’s official Exit Control List (ECL),” Nasir said.
“An exit control stamp was subsequently affixed to her passport,” Nasir added.
The lawyer said that when his client exited the passport control office, the FIA detained her for hours before she was told that she was not allowed to leave the country.
“This is harassment and intimidation through unofficial means,” Nasir said, adding that if she had been added to the ECL, the law mandated immediate notification to the individual concerned.
“But she was not notified. Why was she not notified?” he questioned.
“We believe that she does not exist on any official list. She is not on any of the federal cabinet’s list,” he said. “We think that her name does not exist in the provincial list either,” he added.
Nasir said that Sammi’s name was added “unofficially, through unfair means and in an unjust way” to the list.
He said that the court, seeing the prima facie, admitted that his client had a case.
“I was informed by FIA officials that a letter from the home department stated that the Balochistan Government had placed my name on the Exit Control List,” Sammi said in a post on X on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Balochistan government put the names of several individuals on the Fourth Schedule under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
The Fourth Schedule refers to a list of individuals who are placed under surveillance or restrictions due to concerns related to national security, public safety, or law and order.
The home department has not issued any notification, but many people have confirmed to Dawn that their names have been included in the Fourth Schedule and they have been asked to report to CTD and police. Sources said the action had been taken on the recommendations of district intelligence committees.
A home department official, while seeking anonymity, confirmed that dozens of names have been put in the Fourth Schedule. He said the names of around 300 people were finalised for putting on the list.
“As many as 130 people belong to Quetta who have been included in the Fourth Schedule,” he said.
Meanwhile, talking to Dawn.com, Nasir confirmed that he had not received any such intimation from the government regarding Sammi’s inclusion on the Fourth Schedule.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) condemned the “use of heavy-handed tactics” against Sammi, “thereby violating her freedom of movement”.
It also condemned putting dozens of others in Balochistan on the Fourth Schedule, including members of civil society.
“While the Senate has opposed the government’s decision to give special powers to security forces to detain ‘suspects of terrorism’ for three months, the fact that this is even being considered a solution is tantamount to legalising enforced disappearances,” it said in a post on X.
“The state must urgently rethink this security-driven strategy and engage with Baloch civil society as a means of resolving the crisis in the province,” it added.
