Dar informs Home Office about diplomatic passport’s cancellation

LONDON: The former Finance Minister of Pakistan Ishaq Dar visited Home Office in abidance of law to inform them about cancellation of his diplomatic Passport by Pakistani authorities.

It has been learnt that Ishaq Dar came to know about the cancellation of his passport through media in which a letter dated 6th September 2018 from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to DG Immigration and Passports was leaked, containing the direction to cancel Ishaq Dar's diplomatic passport.

Earlier, it was reported in media that the Interior Ministry had informed the Supreme Court of Pakistan that Mr. Dar's passport had been blocked. Under the circumstances, it was compulsory for Mr. Dar to approach the UK Home Office and inform them that the travel document - on which he was allowed to enter in the United Kingdom - has been cancelled by the Pakistani Authorities, in order to comply with the local law.

After a media channel reported that Dar has applied for asylum, a trusted source confirmed that: "Ishaq Dar recently visited the Home Office in order to update the Authorities about his current status and to explain his situation after having been left stateless post-cancellation of his passport by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s government”.

The source said: “Ishaq Dar presented his medical reports etc before the home office too; an employee of the home office requested Mr. Dar if can take a selfie with Mr. Dar. Mr. Dar allowed him and that picture is being used as an unverified proof that asylum has been applied for. The picture proves nothing. Home office should be contacted to verify facts."

A source at the Home Office said that the Home Office cannot comment on people visiting Home Office and “we don’t discuss individual cases as a matter of policy”. "People come here for various reasons including extension of visit visas, granting of temporary residency on medical grounds etc. A person's visit to the Home Office doesn’t necessarily mean that he has visited to apply for an Asylum."

An immigration expert told The News that, "Any person who entered UK on a travel document and if such travel document expires or is cancelled by the issuing Country, then he is obliged to update the UK Authorities of such development in accordance with law."

A stateless person has Protection under human rights Act 1998 (European convention on human rights 1950); Protection under Geneva convention 1951; and further leave under family rights. A stateless person, as defined by the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons is “a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law”. In 2013, the UK government introduced a procedure through which people could be recognised as stateless and granted the right to remain in the UK because of their statelessness. The law expert said that Britain’s law generally offers many choices for people in destitute and hardship situations and people frequently use Home Office to regularise their stay in the Country under the circumstances.