SC registrar office returns petition on ‘forceful eviction’

Says questions of public importance not highlighted in case

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court registrar office has refused to entertain a constitutional petition seeking a restraining order on forceful deportation or harassment of anyone born in Pakistan and having a claim to birthright citizenship in accordance with section 4 of the Citizenship Act, 1951 and ruling of the Islamabad High Court.

It stated that the petition did not point out what questions of public importance in the instant case were involved with reference to the enforcement of any of the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.

It maintained that the petitioner was invoking extraordinary jurisdiction of the top court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution for the redressal of an individual grievance, which was not permissible, and that the “ingredients” in this regard had not been satisfied.

The registrar office noted that the petitioner had not approached any other relevant forum for the same relief and did not provide justification for not doing so.

It further noted that the caretaker prime minister and interim chief ministers of all provinces had been impleaded as respondents, adding that it could not be done under Article 248 of the Constitution.

Read also: SC moved to curb Afghan deportations

The government has launched a crackdown on all illegal aliens, ordering them to leave the country or face eviction. The deadline for repatriation expired on October 31.

Pakistan has repeatedly stated that its campaign is not targeted against a specific nationality, but admits that the policy happens to impact the Afghan nationals the most.

With over four million Afghans living in the country for several decades almost half of them are believed to be undocumented. More than 200,000 Afghans have left the country so far.

The first influx of refugees came after the former Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. Pakistan at the time welcomed them but those refugee camps later served as a launching pad for the West and Pakistan to defeat the Soviet Union.

Unlike Iran, Pakistan later allowed the refugees to settle in the country’s urban centres. Despite Soviet withdrawal, peace and stability eluded Afghanistan, meaning millions of Afghan refugees had no incentive to go back to their homeland.