ISLAMABAD: Former Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) Akhtar Buland Rana has challenged a notification of Directorate General of Immigration and Passport that has blacklisted him.

Mr Rana through his counsel, Sardar Talmoor Aslam, filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) requesting the court to set aside the notification that has blocl(ed him from travelling abroad since he was removed from the office of the AGP in May last year.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Rana said that he was unaware of the travel restriction until recently when someone informed him that his name had been included in the blacklist.

According to a former director general of immigration and passport, whenever the office of the Immigration and Passport learnt that a citizen has deliberately concealed some facts or submitted a false declaration, the said office puts his name on the blaclclist and shares his passport details with the airports.

Hence, the blacklisted person cannot use his passport toleave the country and until or unless he gets himself cleared, the directorate nei-ther issues nor renews his passport.

After being blacklisted, Mr Rana has been deprived of future passport facilities; he has been denied these rights on the basis of allegations that he obtained the Pakistani passportbyconcealinghisCanadian nationality.

While seeking his right to movement, the former AGP in his petition, has cited directorate general and the assistant director (BL cell) of the Immigration & Passport as respondentsin the case.

In the petition,the counselstated that the respondents issued a letter on May 5, 2015, blacklisting him.

The respondents have also initiated an inquiry against Mr Rana, despite the fact that he had already been removed from his position of auditor general of Pakistan.

In the petition, it has been explained that Mr Rana challenged his removal before the IHC in 2015, a case which is yet to be concluded.

Despite this, says the petition, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) filed a case against him for concealing his citizenship.

He had to seek bail in this case.

But this case was closed as `no irregularity/ double identity was involved,` according to the FIA investigation report.

Mr Rana explains in the petition that he recently found out that apart from being removed and facing an FIA case, he was also blacklisted.

The petition says that this action is illegal as he was not informed of this decision and no notice was issued to him.

In addition, Mr Rana points out in his petition, the FIA report (which concluded that he was not guilty ofany wrong doing) said that Rana had a computerised national identity card (CNIC) and was later issued a national identity card for overseas Pakistanis (Nicop); in addition the report made it clear that Mr Rana had not hidden his Canadian nationality.

The petition also argues that the superior judiciary has time and again protected and affirmed that a right to travel is a fundamental and constitutional right of a citizen and hence, the decision to blacklist him is not right.

Ex-AGP Rana was convicted in two references and was subsequently removed from his position after the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) in May last year found him guilty of misconduct.

He was accused of `misconduct` by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which said that he had pocketed around Rs4.7 million in excess salaryandprivileges,andsuggested that the SJC remove him.

The reference was submitted after providing an opportunity to Mr Rana to appear before the PAC meetings and clarify his position, but he never turned up before the PAC.

Under Article 168(2) of the Constitution, the auditor general, who holds a constitutional office, can only be removed by the Supreme Judicial Council.

Though Mr Rana`s appointment had been controversial to begin with, he came under the spotlight because of the spat with the PAC.

He says his troubles were linked to his decision to question Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif`s decision to clear the Rs480 billion circular debt without a pre-audit.