ISLAMABAD: The Sup­reme Court will decide on Dec 1 on the maintainability of a petition seeking restraining orders against the caretaker government’s decision to deport illegal Afghan nationals.

Headed by Justice Sar­dar Tariq Masood, the bench, comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Ayesha Malik, will take up the petition moved by former PPP senator Farha­t­ullah Babar through his counsel Umer Ijaz Gilani.

On Nov 20, Justice Yahya Afridi, during a chamber hearing, ordered to fix the appeal against the court registrar’s refusal to entertain the petition.

The registrar’s office returned the petition on the grounds that it had failed to point out what questions of public importance in the present case were involved with reference to the enforcement of any of the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.

The petition was jointly moved on behalf of Farhatullah Babar, Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, Amina Masood Janjua, Mohsin Dawar, Mohammad Jibran Nasir, Syed Muaz Shah, Pastor Ghazala Parveen, Imaan Zainab Mazari, Ahmad Shabbar, Advocate Imran Shafiq, Luke Victor, Sijal Shafiq, and Rohail Kasi. They pleaded before the apex court to restrain the federal government and state institutions from detaining, deporting, or otherwise harassing anyone who possesses a PoR (proof of residence), ACC (Afghan Citizen Card), asylum-seeker application issued by UNHCR or pre-screening slip issued by its partners SHARP and SEHAR.

The petition pleaded that a direction should be issued, requiring the federal government not to detain, forcefully deport, or otherwise harass anyone born in Pakistan with a claim to birthright citizenship in accordance with Section 4 of the Citizenship Act, 1951, and the ruling of the Islamabad High Court in 2021 case of Hafiz Hamdullah Saboor.

It contended that the federal government should also be asked to permit UNHCR and its partner organisations to register, expedite the processing, and decide on all asylum-seeking applications in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2023