Successful talks held with EU on deportation of Pakistanis

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Ch Nisar Ali Khan in a meeting with the European Union Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos on Monday negotiated an understanding to devise a mechanism to address concerns and reservations of Pakistan relating to immigration laws and the EU readmission agreement while deporting Pakistanis.
Avramopoulos said that contrary to the past practices, an explicit SOP will be followed in future to deport Pakistanis from the European countries and in this regard reservations of Pakistan will be addressed. Meanwhile, to devise an SOP for future course of action, meetings between representatives of both sides will start soon.
The visiting EU delegation acknowledged concerns and reservations of Pakistan on the deporting issue of Pakistanis from the European countries and vowed to address this issue with mutual collaboration.
The meeting exchanged views in detail relating to terrorism, human-trafficking and increasing Islamphobia in European countries. Both sides agreed to counter Islamophobia together. Nisar, expressing concerns over deportation of Pakistanis from the European countries in the wake of terrorism attacks in Paris, announced to raise this issue with the International Organisiation for Migration (IOM) and Monday’s meeting was part of it.
In the past, scores of Pakistanis were deported to Pakistan without any solid evidences of their criminal record and there were also instances that scores of people having forged documents of Pakistan were deported to Pakistan without seeking verification from the Government of Pakistan.
The interior minister had announced that any deported Pakistani from Europe or any place from the world will not be allowed to land in Pakistan without verification and clearance from the Interior Ministry and Foreign Ministry of Pakistan.
In this perspective, the EU Commissioner for Migration negotiated an understanding with Nisar to devise an SOP and explicit mechanism for verification and clearance to deport any Pakistani from Europe.
A joint communiqué was issued after successful negotiations between the visiting delegates and Nisar to make an end to insulting practices and inhuman attitude towards the Pakistanis in European countries.
Similarly, Nisar has warned all airlines operating from Europe to Pakistan not to take onboard any deported Pakistani without clearance from Pakistani authorities.
The meeting will prove a ray of hope for all the Pakistanis immigrating to Europe and other parts of the world as in the wake of Paris attacks, biased policies are being observed for Muslims and Pakistanis all over the world.
The European Union’s Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs, Dimitris Avramopoulos, said that there must not be generalised Islamphobia on the pretext of Paris attacks as Islam is a religion of peace and co-existence.
“We must avoid spreading generalised Islamphobia in our societies as Islam has contributed a lot to human civilisation. Any act of insane or criminal cannot be attributed to Islam,” the visiting EU’s Commissioner for Migration told a select group of reporters after holding negotiations with the Pakistani authorities, including Interior Minister Ch Nisar Ali Khan here on Monday.
He said Pakistani nationals do not qualify for getting treatment of ‘refugees’ as the country possessed a democratic system and had writ of the government. “Everything is back to normal as Pakistan and the EU will now make a new beginning,” he said when a journalist inquired about the statement of interior minister on deporting Pakistanis by EU on false accusation of involvement in terrorist activities.
All illegal migrants, he said, will be sent back to Pakistan but they will be treated decently. He said that EU was granting license to 50,000 Pakistanis per annum for their acceptance as legal migrants.
He said Pakistan and the EU were entering into a new phase of relationship as it seemed necessary by putting aside some technical issues. He said that the EU decided to apply its rules as illegal migrants would be sent back to their native countries. “It’s not an issue of becoming tougher or softer with anyone but we are implementing our rules and procedures,” he added. The illegal flows of migrants, he said, were coming through Greece, Italy and other countries.
The EU decided to establish fresh rules from January 1, 2016 for allowing legal migrants’ entry into the EU. “We have decided to establish our migration office in Islamabad in order to facilitate legal migrants,” he added.
When asked about increasing difficulties for Muslims and Pakistanis in Europe following the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, he said that all terrorists belonged to the EU so a roadmap required eradicating radicalisation from their society. “Islam is a religion of peace and its philosophy is based upon co-existence,” he added.
The repatriation of illegal migrants depends upon Spain, Greece and Italy. He said the EU would have to learn lessons from the UK and other countries on efficient handling of immigration issues.
He said that the EU ordered 21,000 illegal migrants to leave the region in 2014 out of which 50 percent complied with the orders so far. “Both the countries also decided to track down elements involved in human smuggling,” he added.
More than 20 million Muslims live illegally in the EU and are considered a threat to the EU, he said and added that there were reports that Afghan nationals were making efforts to enter the EU in the guise of Syrian refugees.
“Pakistan and the EU are making efforts to cross check information which will help in determining illegal status of migrants,” he added.
There is a legal way to enter the EU and all such migrants will be welcomed but illegal entry will be dealt with in accordance with the rules and procedures, he made it clear.
To another query regarding growing hatred against the Muslims, he said that unfortunately some incidents had happened recently but the level of its scale was not worrying.