Description

In Rahil Azizi v. The State (PLD 2024 Islamabad 231), an Afghan national who had worked for the Afghan police had fled to Pakistan after the Taliban took control in Afghanistan. She approached a police station upon entering the country in Islamabad and was charged with having committed an offence under Article 14(2) of the Foreigners Act (1946) and was sent to jail. After approaching the courts she was sent to UNHCR to process her asylum application. As a result she was given a pre-screening confirmation slip by UNHCR. The Ministry of Interior had stated that while the confirmation slip does not attest to any formal legal status in Pakistan, it does provide some basic protection to its bearer until the determination of his/her claim for international protection is made. The Court had previously granted her bail and noted that she was stuck between a rock and a hard place as she feared for her life and escaped to Pakistan in order to seek asylum but has been arrested for entering Pakistan without a valid visa and is now being treated as a criminal.