By Haris Qadeer
Pakistani-administered Jammu & Kashmir’s Kotli district resident and a cardiologist at a well-known hospital in Lahore, Dr. Rehan Toqeer, is being targeted by Pakistan’s federal institutions and courts in a concerted attempt to prevent him from traveling to the United States on a family immigration visa.
Dr. Rehan Toqeer’s only “crime” appears to be that the name of his father, Syed Toqeer Hussain Shah, is listed in his documents — that is, he is the son of Dr. Toqeer Gilani, the Zonal President of the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).
On June 4, 2025, Dr. Rehan Toqeer was scheduled to depart for the United States on his family immigration visa. During this immigration process, he had already cleared the U.S. medical licensing examinations and was due to report for employment.
At Islamabad Airport, Dr. Rehan completed the boarding process, and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) immigration office checked all his documents, stamped his passport with exit clearance, and he proceeded through the waiting lounge and boarded the aircraft. Moments before departure, FIA officials forcibly offloaded him from the plane and informed him that his name had been placed on the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL), making him ineligible to travel abroad.
The PNIL is a temporary list — also known as a subsidiary of the Exit Control List (ECL) — used to immediately stop individuals from traveling abroad when the process to formally place them on the ECL is still ongoing.
The following day, Dr. Rehan approached the Islamabad High Court, given the emergency nature of the matter. The court scheduled a hearing 15 days later on June 18, instructing FIA to present a report. FIA took another 15 days to respond and claimed that Dr. Rehan’s name was added to the PNIL at the request of Kotli police, citing an FIR filed in Kotli on November 21, 2024. After receiving the FIA’s response, the Islamabad High Court dismissed the case.
In reality, no FIR has ever been filed against Dr. Rehan, and his name does not appear in the November 21, 2024 FIR. In fact, five months after the alleged FIR was registered, Kotli police issued Dr. Rehan a police clearance certificate explicitly stating that he had no criminal record. Moreover, records show that Dr. Rehan was on duty at Lahore’s Mayo Hospital on November 21, 2024 — further proving the baselessness of the allegations.
In light of these facts, he once again approached the High Court, this time represented by counsel Iman Mazari. Fifteen days later, it was revealed that the judge had gone on a two-month leave, and the next hearing was set for September 16.
According to his father, Dr. Toqeer Gilani, Dr. Rehan’s U.S. visa will expire in September, and he must arrive in the U.S. before that date. Family immigration visas require entry into the U.S. within a specified timeframe, failing which the entire immigration process — which is lengthy and complex — has to start over. Dr. Rehan obtained this visa after three years of effort.
As a result of these actions, his airline ticket cost has already been lost, the job offer he was set to accept has been withdrawn, and even more devastatingly, he now fears his visa will expire, forcing him to undergo another three years of hardship. Dr. Rehan was married in the U.S., and now he is being forced to spend more years away from his wife.
The state’s retaliatory campaign against the father has now extended to his son’s career and personal life, deliberately trying to keep him apart from his wife. In this gross colonial-style abuse, it is not just the immigration authorities and superior courts that have shredded the principles of law and justice, but also the colonial police setup that — despite issuing him a police clearance certificate — is falsely implicating him in a fabricated FIR, tarnishing the very face of justice.
It is worth noting that Dr. Toqeer Gilani himself has been forced to live in self-imposed exile. The state charged him under blasphemy laws, and after similar judicial persecution, he was compelled to flee the country to avoid rotting in prison. Now his family is being punished in his absence. Importantly, Dr. Rehan himself has no connection to his father’s party nor has he been involved in the movement.
It must also be noted that Dr. Toqeer has been engaged in national freedom politics in the region for the past 40 years. While he has faced cases in the past, the level of vengeance being unleashed now is unprecedented. This crackdown stems from his recent active role in the movement and his speech at the funeral of martyrs in Muzaffarabad, where he vowed to avenge the killers.
It is also evident that Dr. Rehan is not the only young person being targeted because of his father’s role in the movement. Dozens of other young people are facing similar obstacles in obtaining police clearance certificates. Despite announcements of withdrawing cases, individuals are still being falsely named in fabricated cases and declared fugitives while cases proceed in courts — using judicial processes as tools of reprisal.
Colonial rulers have now embarked on a path to make an example of the inhabitants of the colony, punishing them for their rightful protests and demands.
Dr. Rehan must be provided justice and immediately allowed to travel. The fabricated and baseless travel restrictions must be lifted without delay.
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