LAHORE: Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President, Asma Jahangir, while condemning the Pakistan government’s decision of making it mandatory to take a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to go out of the country, demanded a review of it.

In a statement issued on Friday, Asma called it a foolish decision and demanded that it should be withdrawn immediately. Terming it as a violation of fundamental rights of the citizens, she asked the government to cancel the NOC directive so that the citizens could travel abroad freely. She said every citizen had the right of free movement and no one could deprive them of this right.

The SCBA president said a restriction on the movement of people reflects the mindset of bureaucracy that aims to snatch the rights of people. Being ambassadors of the country, students, artists, and journalists project a bright and liberal picture of Pakistan and it was discriminatory to put the condition of NOC on them, she said.
Source: Daily Times
Date:2/26/2011