Pakistanis among top six nations seeking asylum

LONDON: Pakistanis figure among the asylum seekers from top six countries which applied for political asylum in Britain in last year to March this year.

Asylum claims generally in the UK have jumped by more than a third to the highest annual level for more than a decade. Latest statistics reveal that 34,687 applications were made till March this year. The highest number of applications came from the nationals of Iran (4,305), followed by Eritrea (3,321), Iraq (2,805), Sudan (2,769), Pakistan (2,669) and Syria (2,539).

It was the largest number since the year ending September 2004 and an increase of 38% compared to the previous year - the highest jump since comparable records started in 2001.

Including dependants, the number of asylum applications increased by 30% to 41,563 in the year ending March 2016. There was around one dependant for every five main applicants, the Home Office figures showed.

Home Office said that the figures showed that there were 3,206 asylum applications from unaccompanied children over the period - a rise of 57% compared to the year ending March 2015. Several countries have seen dramatic increases in young refugees arriving without a parent or guardian since the international migration crisis started. Germany (562,000), Sweden (159,000) and Hungary (142,000) received the highest number of asylum applications.

Sources said most of the Pakistanis cited political and religious prosecution back home. The number of Pakistani women asylum seekers has been the highest in the last year, with most women citing persecution in the society, mainly from family members and society in general.