Pakistan: Removal of failed Pakistani refugee claimants from Canada, including the issuance of passports and travel documents by Pakistani authorities; treatment of failed Pakistani refugee claimants in Pakistan, including whether failed Pakistani refugee claimants are interviewed and detained by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) upon their return to Pakistan; whether there have been any amendments to the Passport Act 1974 and Emigration Ordinance 1979, and their application by Pakistani immigration and customs officials (May 2003 - May 2005)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 26 May 2005 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | PAK100044.E |
| Reference | 7 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Pakistan: Removal of failed Pakistani refugee claimants from Canada, including the issuance of passports and travel documents by Pakistani authorities; treatment of failed Pakistani refugee claimants in Pakistan, including whether failed Pakistani refugee claimants are interviewed and detained by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) upon their return to Pakistan; whether there have been any amendments to the Passport Act 1974 and Emigration Ordinance 1979, and their application by Pakistani immigration and customs officials (May 2003 - May 2005), 26 May 2005, PAK100044.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/42df614f1.html [accessed 22 May 2023] |
| Comments | Corrected Feb 06 |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Information on the removal of failed Pakistani refugee claimants from Canada, including the issuance of passports and travel documents by Pakistani authorities, could not be found, while information on the treatment of failed Pakistani refugee claimants in Pakistan during the period covered by this Response was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
United Press International (UPI) reported that in August 2002, Nasir Ali Mubarak, a Pakistani man detained on immigration charges in the United States, who was married to an American woman and who was deported to Pakistan, was "detained for many days at an unknown location" (20 Nov. 2002). In April 2004, UPI reported that in addition to the 1,682 Pakistanis who had by that time been deported from the United States to Pakistan, another 65 Pakistanis were scheduled to be deported that month "mainly for immigration violations" (13 Apr. 2004). The article noted that "detainees have been arrested upon arrival by Pakistani immigration officials" (UPI 13 Apr. 2004). However, according to 24 May 2005 correspondence from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), "[f]ailed Pakistani refugee claimants are not usually detained."
In January 2005, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that "[a] high-profile asylum-seeking family who were deported from Australia after a five-year battle arrived safely in Pakistan but have since disappeared" (4 Jan. 2005).
Other reports of interviews, detentions or disappearances of failed Pakistani refugee claimants upon their return to Pakistan during the period covered by this Response could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
In 16 May 2005 correspondence to the Research Directorate, a Karachi-based lawyer indicated that in the period covered by this Response, no amendments have been made to the Passport Act 1974 or to the Emigration Ordinance 1979. This information was corroborated in 24 May 2005 correspondence to the Research Directorate from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).
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 for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Agence France-Presse (AFP). 4 January 2005. "AFP: Pakistani Officials Says Asylum-Seeking Family from Australia 'Disappeared'." (Dialog)
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Lahore. 24 May 2005. Correspondence.
Lawyer, Karachi. 16 May 2005. Correspondence.
United Press International (UPI). 13 April 2004. Anwar Iqbal. "65 Pakistani Nationals Deported." (Dialog).
_____. 20 November 2000. "87 Pakistanis Deported Wednesday." (Dialog)
Additional Sources Consulted
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), in Ottawa, did not respond to a letter requesting information.
The High Commission of Pakistan, in Ottawa, did not respond to a letter requesting information.
A second lawyer, in Karachi, did not respond to a letter requesting information.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in Ottawa, did not respond to a letter requesting information.
Internet sites, including: Amnesty International (AI), BBC, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2004, Dawn, European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI), Freedom in the World 2004, Human Rights Watch (HRW), Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), United Kingdom - Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United States Committee for Refugees (USCR), World News Connection (WNC).
