PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court on Wednesday directed law enforcement agencies (LEAs) not to deport or take any other adverse action against a prominent Afghan forensic expert and his family members till outcome of their asylum process.

A bench consisting of Justice Mohammad Naeem Anwar and Justice Wiqar Ahmad disposed of a petition filed by former head of Forensic Medicine Services in Afghanistan, Dr Khalil Ahmad Pashtunyar, and his six family members including his wife and five children.

The petitioners have sought directives of court for LEAs and government to allow their stay in Pakistan and not to harass them till finalisation of their resettlement/relocation process.

They sought declaration of court that they were entitled to protection under a notification issued by federal interior ministry on Nov 3, 2023, whereby a clear and explicit policy was announced exempting Afghan nationals awaiting resettlement.

Petitioners, whose asylum cases are pending, fear persecution by Taliban if deported

Advocate Osama Khalil appeared for the petitioners and stated that Dr Khalil was a distinguished medical professional and remained head of forensic medicine and was also a known human and women rights defender.

He said that Dr Khalil also served as a member of Anti-Torture and Human Rights Committee as well as other panels of Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.

He stated that after Taliban took over Afghanistan, he migrated to Pakistan via valid travel documents so as to avoid persecution due to threats linked to his professional and human rights work.

In Pakistan, he said, the petitioners applied for asylum through United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and embassy of France for relocation to a third country. He claimed that they were facing police harassment and risk of deportation amid the ongoing crackdown on undocumented Afghan nationals.

Mr Khalil argued that deportation would expose his family to serious danger.

He contended that the notification issued by government on Nov 3, 2023, clarified that individuals, whose cases were pending with international bodies or foreign missions for relocation to third countries, were exempted from deportation.

He stated that as petitioners’ cases were actively documented with both UNHCR and the French embassy, they fell within the protected category and couldn’t be treated as illegal foreigners.

Meanwhile, a bench temporarily stopped LEAs from deporting two other Afghan families as their heads had served in the former Afghan government, and sought response of government to their pleas.

One of the petitions was filed by Advocate Mohammad Saeed Afridi on behalf of Afghan national Shaheedullah Safi and his family members whereas the other petition was filed by Advocate Sohail Khan for another Afghan national Abdul Baseer Haideri and his family members.

The lawyers pointed out that the petitioners had been serving under the erstwhile Afghan government prior to taking over of Afghanistan by Taliban in 2021.

They stated that to avoid victimisation by Taliban, they migrated to Pakistan and their resettlement cases were pending.

They referred to letters issued to them respectively by the US and Canadian embassies in Pakistan, confirming pendency of their asylum cases. They claimed that the petitioners would face serious threat to their lives upon deportation to Afghanistan.

The bench comprising Justice Wiqar Ahmad and Justice Inamullah Khan fixed May 11 for next hearing of the cases with the direction that those should be clubbed with other petitions of similar nature.

Till next date, the bench ordered that the petitioners should not be deported.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2026