Nawaz’s visa appeal

Visa rejection by the British Home Office, leaves him limited avenues to continue his self-imposed exile

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s plea for a visa extension has been rejected by the British Home Office, leaving him limited avenues to continue his self-imposed exile from Pakistan. PML-N leaders have said Nawaz will appeal the decision, claiming that he has a strong case for political persecution. While this is arguably true, it is surprising that he would wait this long to make a persecution claim for a visa or asylum. Nawaz could have made an asylum claim earlier and avoided the risk of deportation back to Pakistan. However, the optics of the former prime minister filing a formal asylum claim would have been admittedly terrible, which is probably why he opted for visa extensions.

Nawaz left the country almost two years ago for ‘medical treatment’ in the UK and was declared a proclaimed offender in two graft cases last December. In February, the government canceled his passport. Since arriving in London, Nawaz had been applying for and receiving special medical extensions to his visit visa, allowing him to stay in the UK longer than the standard six-month limit.

Unfortunately for Nawaz, the approach has backfired.

Several PTI leaders are saying that the British decision vindicates their claims that Nawaz is not sick, although this has not yet been established as the cause of rejection. Their ‘evidence’ remains the argument that a sick person would not be eating at a restaurant. Their claim that the PTI has no personal enmity with Nawaz also falls flat since PM Imran Khan himself has publicly made statements suggesting that Sharif would be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment in Pakistan. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid reportedly said Nawaz is “no longer a citizen of Pakistan”, even though stripping his citizenship would render him stateless — a human rights violation.

As things stand, Nawaz is unlikely to return anytime soon. The appeals process could take over a year due to the court backlog, and Nawaz may stay in the UK until the case is decided. Even then, irresponsible statements such as the ones we referred to may give Sharif grounds to apply for asylum instead of being forced to return to face justice as his detractors, and even some supporters, believe he should.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2021.

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