Provision:
Freedom of movement, etc.
- Every citizen shall have the right to remain in, and, subject to any reasonable restriction imposed by law in the public interest, enter and move freely throughout Pakistan and to reside and settle in any part thereof.
Meaning:
This article gives every citizen of Pakistan the right to move freely and live and settle anywhere in the country. However, certain reasonable restrictions can be imposed on this right, but for those restrictions to be reasonable, they must fulfil the threshold or requisites of reasonability and proportionality.
Application:
Let’s assume someone from Balochistan wants to move to Punjab for better job and education opportunities. They have every right to do so, and they can’t be stopped solely due to them being from a different province. However, when the pandemic of covid-19 occurred, causing a serious health concern, a nationwide lockdown was imposed at the time, lawfully restricting the movement of the people.