ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has summoned the additional director of FIA in his personal capacity in a case related to offloading of a citizen, Muhammad Saeed Khan, who was traveling to Indonesia.
A single bench of Justice AyyazShaukat on Friday heard the petition filed by Muhammad Saeed through his counsel, Sami UllahWaheed, and cited the federation through the secretary of the ministry of interior as respondent.
The IHC bench directed the FIA additional director to appear in person before the court at the hearing to be held on Tuesday.
During the hearing on Friday, Justice Shaukat expressed his annoyance over offloading citizens without stating a reason.
He said the FIA official should write down the reason if someone was offloaded, and remarked that the officials were treating visit visas and investment visas as same.
The officer responsible for offloading the citizen under the court’s order did not appear, which annoyed the judge; therefore, he said why the one who carried out the offloading did not come himself.
Assistant Director Legal FIA informed the bench that the one who had offloaded the petitioner could not come because his father had had a cardiac issue.
The court also expressed its displeasure over the female officer’s statement equating the investment visa with that of a visit visa.
The judge remarked that you wrote one thing in the report and are stating something else on the rostrum.
He asked the female officer to submit her affidavit and ordered that the report shall not be altered.
Through the instant petition, Muhammad Saeed Khan sought a declaration to the effect that offloading the petitioner despite possession of a valid passport, valid visit visa and return air ticket was without lawful authority, arbitrary, unreasonable and of no legal effect.
The petitioner further sought a direction to the respondents to provide him with a complete record regarding his offloading, including the name and designation of the officer concerned, written reasons, immigration remarks, offloading report and any other document upon which the impugned action was taken.
The counsel for the petitioner submitted that his client had been lawfully engaged in a business and intended to travel to Indonesia in connection with his business/commercial activities. It was further contended that the petitioner had lawfully obtained a valid E-28A business visa for two years after fulfilling the requisite formalities and incurring substantial expenditure.
It was further submitted that on 12.08.2026, when the petitioner proceeded to the Islamabad International Airport for boarding his scheduled international flight, i.e., TG-350 (Thai Airways International), he was stopped and offloaded by the immigration authorities/respondents.
The counsel further contended that the only reason verbally conveyed to his client for offloading him was that the hotel reservation was for six days, and the purpose of his visit was not justified.
It was further alleged that according to the immigration officerconcerned, the petitioner had failed to explain where he would stay after the expiry of the six-day hotel reservation, whereas his return ticket was booked for approximately three months thereafter.
It was further contended that the immigration authorities subsequently recorded the reasons for offloading on the pretext that the petitioner was travelling to Indonesia on a visit visa.
The counsel submitted that the said reasons were factually incorrect and contrary to the documentary record, as the petitioner was holding a valid E-28A visa, i.e., a business/investment visa, and was travelling for legitimate and commercial purposes.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026