Peşaver Yüksek Mahkemesi Afgan sığınmacıların davalarının geri göndermeme ilkesine göre görülmesine hükmetti.

Peshawar High Court directs Centre to decide Afghan asylum seekers’ cases on non-refoulement principle

PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court has directed the federal government to decide the cases of around 140 Afghan families and individuals, seeking asylum or temporary stay in the country, on the principle of non-refoulement within 60 days. Disposing of around 140 petitions of Afghan families and individuals fearing persecution on their forced repatriation to Afghanistan, a bench consisting of Justice Wiqar Ahmad and Justice Inamullah Khan stopped their deportation until the government decided their cases. It released a two-page short order in the case, with the detailed judgement to be released afterward. “For reasons to be recorded later, this and the connected petitions are disposed of by referring the cases of all the petitioners to the federal government for consideration and determination as to whether the essential ingredients for grant of asylum, sojourn or temporary stay exist in their favour on the principle of non-refoulement,” the bench declared. Stops deportation of 140 families, individuals until decision on matter by govt It added that if the federal government was satisfied that the necessary requirements for making such an order exist in any of these cases, it shall grant asylum, sojourn or temporary stay to the concerned petitioners for such a period as it may be determined by the federal government. Said exercise shall be completed within a period of two months. “Till a final decision is made by the federal government, petitioners shall not be deported to Afghanistan,” it declared. “In case, the federal government is unable to render its decision within the aforesaid period of sixty days, the Worthy Secretary, Ministry of Interior, government of Pakistan, shall issue temporary permits to the petitioners authorising them to remain in Pakistan for such further period as may be required by the federal government for rendering its final decision. “During the period of sixty days, or any extended period so permitted, the law-enforcement agencies of the federal and provincial governments shall neither arrest nor deport the petitioners merely on account of their stay in Pakistan,” the bench ruled. Baryalai Miankhel and scores of other petitioners have mostly approached the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for international protection and their resettlement in a third country. They had sought directives of the court for the ministry of interior that the petitioners may not be deported to Afghanistan as they would be facing persecution there by the hand of the present Afghan regime. The petitioners sought further directives for LEAs and the government to allow their stay in Pakistan and not to harass them pending the finalisation of their resettlement and relocation process. The petitions were filed by Afghan nationals from diverse professional backgrounds, including ex- employees of the US-supported former Afghan government and allied institutions, members of the defence and security sectors, judiciary, prosecutors, lawyers, teachers, journalists, NGOs and civil society workers, as well as women who had been employed in private sector there. The federal government had opposed their pleas, requesting the high court to reject them as they’re not maintainable. In its comments on the matter, the government had said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had also given its opinion on the matter insisting that following commencement of the final phase of Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan on Sept 1, 2025, and sufficient time afforded to third countries for processing resettlement cases since 2021, any Afghan national residing in Pakistan without a valid visa and passport was liable to be repatriated irrespective of his or her inclusion in any third-country resettlement programme. It added that the presence of foreigners was regulated exclusively by the Foreigners Act, 1946 and was a matter within the exclusive domain of the federal government. The petitioners were represented by lawyers Saifullah Muhib Kakakhel, Kashif Jan, Faheem Marwat, Malik Shehbaz, Nazir Ahmad, Qaiser Ali Shah, Osama Khalil, Raees Mohammad, Yousaf Khan, Muazzam Butt and others, who insisted that the principle of non-refoulement, recognised as a fundamental principle of international law, prohibited the return of any individual to a country where his or her life, liberty or freedom would be at risk. They argued that although Pakistan was not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, it had consistently respected humanitarian principles and remained bound by constitutional guarantees protecting life, dignity, liberty and due process of law. Proceedings in cases of Afghan nationals seeking different reliefs from the high court have assumed importance following the June 28 order of the interior ministry to arrest illegal Afghan nationals from July 10. The decision about arrests was made during a June 1, 2026,meeting on the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan, leading to the orders for the provincial governments and administration in other areas to expedite the repatriation or deportation of Afghan nationals without valid visas or those overstaying visas. “With effect from 10th July, 2026, any Afghan national found residing in Pakistan without a valid visa shall be arrested immediately,” the ministry’s order read. Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2026