Pakistan: Removal of failed Pakistani refugee claimants from Canada, including the issuance of passports and travel documents by Pakistani authorities; interviews and detention of failed Pakistani refugee claimants by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) upon their return to Pakistan; amendments to the Passport Act 1974 and Emigration Ordinance 1979 and their application by Pakistani immigration and customs officials

According to the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "[a]ll citizens of Pakistan are eligible for [a] Pakistani passport" (30 July 2002). To obtain a passport from a Pakistan embassy, an application must be completed and submitted with the following documents: four passport-size photographs; the original National Identity Card (NIC) with a photocopy; the expired passport (if applicable); and, in the case of a married female, the presentation of an identification card mentioning the husband's name (Pakistan 20 July 2002). An "[o]rdinary passport" is issued in seven days, "depending on the workload at the Consular Office, with [a] normal fee," and an "urgent passport" can be issued "within 24 hours after depositing [an] urgent fee" (ibid.).

The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, in Ottawa, indicated that in assisting Canadian immigration officials in the removal of Pakistani nationals from Canada, the embassy issues travel documents to such nationals upon their completion of an application and theor provision of a statement indicating the circumstances upon which they are being removed, two passport-size photographs, the original NIC, a photocopy of the passport or the expired passport itself (if available) and the payment of CDN $20 (Pakistan 13 May 2003).

To replace a lost Pakistani passport, the national must approach a Pakistan embassy and complete passport application forms, provide a statement indicating the circumstances under which the passport was lost, provide four passport-size photographs, produce a police report stating that the passport was lost, sign an affidavit swearing that the passport was lost and produce the original NIC (ibid.). The embassy will then contact the "last issuing authority" in Pakistan to confirm that the passport was issued in that office to the individual who is claiming it lost (ibid.). Once this confirmation is obtained, the embassy proceeds to issue a new passport (ibid.).

Information posted on the Website of CIC indicates that unsuccessful refugee claimants are issued with a departure order, which is a type of removal order that requires a person to leave Canada within 30 days after the order becomes enforceable, and to confirm his or her departure with CIC (4 July 2002). According to CIC, "[i]n all cases, the individuals and their representatives are informed of the reasons for the removal and are given a copy of the order" (Canada 4 July 2002). A departure order automatically becomes a deportation order - which permanently bars an individual from returning to Canada without written permission from a CIC officer - when the individual fails to leave Canada within 30 days or fails to confirm their departure with CIC (ibid.).

According to The Refugee Protection Claim Process: An Overview, a removal order is "[a] notice from Citizenship and Immigration Canada [CIC] telling a person that he or she must leave Canada for certain reasons" (13 Feb. 2003).

Information provided by a removals liaison officer of CIC indicates that none of the different types of removal orders issued by CIC state whether the individual is a failed refugee claimant (14 May 2003). Instead, the applicable section of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act - "usually an immigrant without a visa" - is stated as the reason for issuing the removal order (Canada 14 May 2003).

For information on the circumstances under which CIC would, when removing someone or obtaining a travel document for them, disclose to the country of citizenship a person's refugee status and his or her personal testimony, please refer to CAN40484.E of 12 February 2003.

According to a Karachi-based senior lawyer who is registered as an advocate-on-record with the Supreme Court of Pakistan (Ghori n.d), "[i]f the Pakistanis have entered another country illegally, it is for that country to punish the offenders. It would be illegal for [the] Pakistani government to detain Pakistanis having entered another country illegally" (9 May 2003). In correspondence sent to the Research Directorate, the advocate-on-record also stated that

... [the] FIA [Federal Investigation Agency] is [a] controlling agency empowered to interrogate, detain and prosecute any infringement of [the] Passport & Emigration Ordinance. But FIA detains only Non-Pakistani nationals illicitly entering Pakistan. FIA does not harass Pakistani nationals because many Pakistani recruiting agencies are indulging in unfair immigration and jobs placement practices and naïve ... Pakistani job seekers become victims of these fraudulent overseas employment bureaus. Pakistanis suffer a lot as they go illegally to many countries and [are] punished there adequately. Recently, even friendly countries ... arrested illegal Pakistani immigrants. Then Pakistanis are seeking asylum in many countries just to get jobs (13 May 2003).

In November 2002, United Press International (UPI) reported that 87 Pakistani nationals were deported from the United States "mostly for ignoring court orders to leave the country" (20 Nov. 2002). While those deported reportedly stated that "they fear they might be arrested and further harassed after they land in Islamabad," a consular officer at the Pakistan embassy in Washington stated that "'[t]here has been no harassment of those Pakistanis who have been repatriated on chartered flights .... In fact, two FIA officers ... received the detainees warmly and helped them reach home. Even the INS [Immigration and Naturalization Services] has officially commended FIA's efficiency" (UPI 20 Nov. 2002).

Referring to Mohammad Masoon, a Pakistani national with temporary resident status in the United States who was deported to Pakistan, The Herald stated that "[e]ven the otherwise notoriously harsh FIA was moved by his plight and it was an FIA official who spent money out of his own pocket to by him a ticket to Lahore" (Feb. 2003, 48).

For additional information on the detention of Pakistan nationals upon their return to Pakistan, please refer to PAK39303.E of 6 August 2002 and PAK40273.E of 1 November 2002.

Additional information on the the criteria used by Pakistani authorities to determine whom among the returning nationals is to be detained for an interview and whether there is a standard interview employed by the FIA, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within time constraints.

Information on whether there have been any amendments to the Passport Act 1974 and Emigration Ordinance 1979 could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within time constraints. However, according to a news report by The Pakistan Newswire, implementation of the National Identity Card (NIC) scheme for overseas Pakistanis was postponed in June 2002 (18 June 2002). The programme sets out the procedure for obtaining a NIC, which "is mandatory for Pakistani citizens who work or intend to work outside Pakistan and are required to be registered with the Protector of Emigrants under the Emigration Ordinance and Emigration Rules 1979" (The Pakistan Newswire 18 June 2002). Under the scheme, application forms for the NIC are to be made available at Pakistani embassies and consulates, specified banks and Pakistan International Airlines offices (ibid.). Once completed, they are to be submitted to a Pakistani mission or sent directly to the National Aliens Registration Authority in Pakistan, where they will be processed (ibid.). Processing time will range from six to eight weeks, after which, the card will be sent to the Pakistani mission from where the application was submitted or to the address of the applicant (ibid.). Corroborating information was reported by Dawn (19 June 2002).

According to the High Commission of Pakistan, in Ottawa, Pakistan consulates in Montreal and Toronto and the High Commission in Ottawa began accepting NIC applications under this programme between September and October 2002 (Pakistan 13 May 2003).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Canada. 14 May 2003. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). Correspondence from a removals liaison officer.

_____. 13 February 2003. Immigration and Refugee Board. "Appendix 1: Glossary." The Refugee Protection Claim Process: An Overview. [Accessed 13 May 2003]

_____. 4 July 2002. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). "Fact Sheet 1: Removals." [Accessed 13 May 2003]

Dawn [Karachi, in English]. 19 June 2002. "NICs for Expatriates Delayed." (NEXIS)

Ghori, Abdul Saeed Khan. n.d. "Abdul Saeed Khan Ghori." [Accessed 13 May 2003]

The Herald [Karachi, in English]. February 2003. Azmat Abbas. "End of Eden."

Pakistan. 13 May 2003. High Commission of Pakistan, Ottawa. Telephone interview with a consular assistant.

_____. 30 July 2002. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Procedure for Issuance of Pakistani Passport." [Accessed 12 May 2003]

The Pakistan Newswire. 18 June 2002. "National Identity Cards for Overseas Pakistanis Postponed." (NEXIS)

Registered Advocate-on-Record, Supreme Court of Pakistan, Karachi. 13 May 2003. Correspondence.

_____. 9 May 2003. Correspondence.

United Press International (UPI). 20 November 2002. Anwar Iqbal. "87 Pakistanis Deported Wednesday." (NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

Bureau Chief, Peshawar Office, The Nation [Peshawar, Pakistan]

The Embassy for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Ottawa, did not respond to a letter requesting information concerning amendments to the Passport Act and Emigration Ordinance, its application, and the interview and detention of Pakistani nationals returning to Pakistan, within time constraints.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan did not respond to a letter requesting information within time constraints.

IRB Databases

A Pakistan-based lawyer and former representative of, and legal advisor for, the United Nations High Commissioner did not respond to a letter requesting information within time constraints.

Refugees International did not respond to a letter requesting information within time constraints.

University of Peshawar, Human Rights Studies Centre, did not respond to a letter requesting information within time constraints.

World News Connection

Internet sites, including:

Amnesty International

Asylum Law

BBC

Danish Immigration Service

European Country of Origin Information Network

The Herald [Karachi]. October 2002 to April 2003

Human Rights Watch

Norwegian Refugee Council

Pakistan Law Review

Pakistan News Agency

Refugees International

United Kingdom, Immigration and Nationality Directorate

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

United States Committee for Refugees

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