LAHORE: Passports of thousands of citizens across Punjab have remained blocked for the past two years over suspected involvement in the May 9, 2023 riots, halting international travel plans including Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages. Many affected individuals only discovered their status when stopped at airports or during routine passport renewals.
Authorities reportedly used geo-fencing to trace phone activity in riot-affected areas on May 9 and 10, leading to blacklisting of people working or present in those zones — including employees of both public and private institutions. Several of those impacted have now petitioned the Lahore High Court, prompting the court to summon passport officials along with their records.
The Passport and Immigration Department has submitted records confirming the blacklisting but maintained that the inclusion and removal of names from the blacklist and Exit Control List (ECL) is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior. The department said the petitioners were blacklisted due to alleged ties to the May 9 violence.
Blacklisted individuals cannot renew their expired passports until their names are cleared. The mass blacklisting followed violent unrest after the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan, during which 39 military sites were attacked nationwide — 23 of them in Punjab.
Key targets included the GHQ in Rawalpindi, Corps Commander’s House in Lahore, Mianwali Air Base, and ISI offices in Faisalabad, Sargodha, and Rawalpindi. The crackdown has led to legal and travel complications for a broad section of the public, with the court now expected to determine the legality of the passport bans.
