Description

In Hashmat Ullah vs. the Interior Ministry (W.P. No. 4840-P/2023)  regarding the refoulement of Afghan artists and singers who had fled to Pakistan after the Taliban’s takeover in 2021. The Peshawar High Court held in December 2024 that ‘the unauthorized entry of an Afghan national to Pakistan cannot be made a reason, in the peculiar circumstances of these cases as explained in the start, that their request for asylum should not be entertained by state authorities. Similarly, this court can also entertain writ petition of such a person for enforcement of the fundamental rights available to any person who happens to be on the soil of Pakistan whether or not such a person is a citizen of the State’.  The Court also noted that Article 3 of the Convention Against Torture and Article 13 of ICCPR oblige state parties to not refoul or extradite a person to a state where he may be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading behaviour. The federal government was asked to take this into account when determining their claims for asylum. The Court also held that the petitioners could apply to UNHCR for them to recommend that they be granted asylum to the federal government.