Plea for citizenship: Court stops Afghan man’s deportation

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday stopped the deportation of an Afghan man, who married a Pakistan woman, until the decision on his writ petition seeking Pakistani nationality and ordered the Ministry of Interior to decide the issue of citizenship as per the law.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Mohammad Ibrahim Khan and Justice Shakeel Ahmad heard petitions of the Afghan citizens. The court directed the petitioners to submit relevant documents to the Ministry of Interior. The court also directed the federal government to take a decision after fulfilling formalities about the applications of the Afghan men seeking Pakistani citizenship on the basis of their marriage to Pakistani women.

Mohammad Asif, counsel for a petitioner, informed the bench that a Pakistani woman Farmela had married an Afghan national Daud Khan in 2010. He said that the police were now harassing the couple in order to depart them to Afghanistan. The lawyer pointed out that as per the law, the couple must not face such action. He said the couple had submitted an application to the Ministry of Interior for the issuance of citizenship certificate but it was yet to be decided. The lawyer requested the court to order the relevant officials not to depart the man until the final decision on his application.

In another case, Naumanul Haq Kakakhel told the bench that his client Tajun Nisa Khushal had filed an application for political asylum and her case was pending before the UNHCR and the federal government had given her relief until February 27. The court directed the UNHCR to decide her case within one month. The bench heard similar petitions and directed the Ministry of Interior to decide the applications as per the law.