LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday sought the reply of the concerned authority by April 26 on the plea filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz for the return of her passport to perform Umrah.
A division bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC), headed by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, while hearing the petition of Maryam Nawaz issued a notice to concerned quarters for a reply.
Earlier, another division bench headed by Justice Syed Shahbaz Ali Rizvi had denied hearing the petition filed by the PML-N leader, remarking that the petitioner should seek a response from the court that had granted her bail.
The petition was subsequently forwarded to the LHC chief justice who sent the petition to the Justice Najafi-led bench.
Maryam Nawaz had requested the high court to pass directions to the deputy registrar and return her passport, which was surrendered before him complying with the LHC’s order on October 31, 2019.
The petitioner had been granted bail and was required to submit her passport before the authority.
In her plea, the PML-N leader implored that freedom of movement was a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution, adding, that the condition imposed through the order was tantamount to the deprivation of her rights.
“There is settled law that mere registration of a case or institution of criminal proceedings does not automatically imply that the accused should be disallowed to move outside Pakistan,” she said, adding that registration of a criminal case would not be a ground for depriving a citizen of the exercise of his or her constitutional right.
