ISLAMABAD: It was not the ‘violation’ of the visa category but some other concerns that led the federal government to expel three Filipino missionary workers.

According to a letter the interior ministry wrote to Mr Rufin Anthony, Bishop Diocese of Islamabad–Rawalpindi on June 26, complaints such as “accusations of discrimination” and alleged concealment of offences (abuse of a six-year-old child at a school) were under the consideration of the ministry of interior before it cancelled the visas of the missionary workers.

Miraflor Aclan Bahan, the principal of the Islamabad Convent School, Sector F-8; Delia Coyoca Rubio, principal Islamabad Convent H-8, and Elizabeth Umail Siguenza, finance officer at H-8 Convent School, were on June 16 directed to leave the country within 15 days.

Interestingly, a month earlier, the ministry had extended the visas for a couple of years.

In the letter addressed to the bishop, the interior ministry disapproved of the filing of a petition with the IHC saying: “If you had any reservation over the cancellation of visa of your employees, you should have applied to the federal government for revision of the decision. To the contrary, despite being a responsible organisation, you chose to scandalise the case through the media…this amount to giving political twist to a purely legal matter.”

The letter added, “there have been serious accusations of discrimination against Muslims while ignoring (and in some case) flouting the clear-cut regulations governing schools.”

However, when Dawn contacted some parents of the students at the Islamabad Convent, they said they never felt any ‘discrimination’.

Rukhsana Amin, whose two daughters and a son are studying in the schools, said she never felt any discrimination against Muslims in the school. She said her children were also being taught Islamic Studies in the school.

Mohammad Zafarullah, the father of another Convent student, said though the school was run by Christian missionary workers, its education never demonstrated anything against Islam or the Muslims.

In the letter, the interior ministry accused the Convent administration of manipulating the child abuse case. It alleged, “Even more serious allegations of concealment of offences allegedly committed on your premises and diverting the course of justice.”

It added: “The ministry would like to know whether the competent personnel, as you say, were equipped and suited for the job which has been entrusted to them?”

Citing the FIR registered against a peon of the Islamabad Convent School on June 9 on the charge of abusing the six-year-old child, the ministry stated, “the parents of the aggrieved minor strongly pursued the case and in an application addressed to the ministry of interior they appealed to take action against the administration of the institution who they think have prevented the complainant from taking medico-legal action against the main culprit.”

The letter pointed out that “they (parents of the child) claimed that the administration blocked a fair and transparent enquiry into the matter and destroyed the primary/secondary evidence pertinent for proving the accused as guilty.”

The ministry also asked the Bishop to provide “verified record of the pay, perks and privileges of the three applicants concerned. Furthermore, a detailed report on their tax returns will also be necessary besides their area of responsibility.”

Advocate Rana Abid Nazir, the legal adviser to the Convent Schools, however, said the missionary workers were foreign nationals and, therefore, were not issued any national tax number (NTN) and could not provide details of the tax return.

He said by asking from the Bishop the details of pay, perks and privileges, the interior ministry itself conceded that it was not sure about the status of the missionary workers. After cancellation of the visas on mere assumptions, the ministry is now seeking for such details, he added.

Despite repeated attempts, the officials concerned in the interior ministry could not be contacted for comments.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2015

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