The Peshawar High Court has rejected the asylum and temporary residency petition of two former Afghan military personnel, ruling that they failed to establish a violation of their fundamental rights. The two former servicemen had asked the court to grant them temporary residence in Pakistan, extend their visas, and provide protection against detention and deportation.
In their petition, the two former military personnel said they would face serious threats to their lives if they were returned to Afghanistan. On this basis, they had sought the court’s intervention to prevent their detention or deportation from Pakistan.
In its ruling, the Peshawar High Court said that potential concerns over threats to their lives, on their own, were not sufficient grounds for the High Court to exercise its constitutional jurisdiction under Article 199 of Pakistan’s Constitution. According to the ruling, the petitioners were required to demonstrate, with evidence, that their fundamental rights had been violated.
The decision comes as the Peshawar High Court recently directed Pakistani police and other security agencies not to detain or deport two journalists and a former Afghan military officer until Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior makes a decision on their cases.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad and Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel ruled in that case that, until the Pakistani Ministry of Interior reaches a final decision, police and other law-enforcement agencies have no authority to detain or deport the three individuals.
However, the latest ruling concerning the two former Afghan military personnel indicates that requests for residency or protection from deportation will not necessarily be granted without sufficient evidence demonstrating a violation of fundamental rights.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
