Fifteen politicians, human rights activists, and members of various political parties in Pakistan have submitted a formal request to the country’s Supreme Court, urging the institution to intervene and halt the deportation of undocumented refugees, especially Afghans.
As reported by the Dawn newspaper, they lodged this request on Wednesday, November 1st, with the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
The petitioners have criticized Islamabad’s decision as a violation of Pakistan’s 45-year-old policy and beyond the mandate of the country’s interim government. In their statement, they argued that the government’s decision to expel refugees has infringed upon the fundamental rights of approximately 4.4 million Afghans currently residing in Pakistan.
The statement noted that the issue of expelling illegal Afghan immigrants had been discussed in the elected federal cabinets, where representatives had opted for more humane solutions over mass deportation policies.
Signatories to this request include Farhatullah Babar of the People’s Party of Pakistan, Mushtaq Ahmed, a senator from the Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, Amina Masood Janjua, a human rights activist, Mohsin Dawar, the leader of the National Democratic Movement, and several others.
In their letter, they expressed deep concern that instead of fulfilling its duty, the interim government is making strategic policy decisions that will adversely affect the people of this country.
They further appealed to the Supreme Court of Pakistan to declare the government’s decision to deport illegal refugees as “unlawful and against the constitutional law” of the country and demanded its immediate revocation.
Among the other requests made by the petitioners is the allowance of international organizations to handle the affairs of Afghans awaiting relocation to a third country.
Despite repeated calls from international organizations to refrain from the forced deportation of millions of Afghans from Pakistan, the authorities in this country have asserted that their decision in this matter is non-negotiable.
