Given Allama Sahib’s background, it can be safely assumed that his asylum claim was based either on political opinion or religion or both. PHOTO: AFP
Dr Tahirul Qadri sought asylum in 2008 in Canada. The gist of the asylum claim, according to this newspaper, was based on alleged threats to his life from groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Sipah-e-Sahaba. The presence of Allama Sahib in Pakistan raises two issues: legal and moral.
Legal: Under the UN Refugee Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act 2001 of Canada, individuals may claim asylum if they fear persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or belonging to a particular social group. Given Allama Sahib’s background, it can be safely assumed that his asylum claim was based either on political opinion or religion or both.
For a successful asylum claim, the fear of persecution must be ‘well-founded’. Allama Sahib’s claim was found well-founded and asylum was granted. International protection (seeking asylum in another country) is temporary in nature and ceases when the circumstances giving rise to asylum cease to exist. The presence of Allama Sahib in Pakistan and his ability to compel the government to sign an agreement, mainly on his terms, demonstrate two things.
First, that he can continue his political career without fear of persecution and second, the government can provide protection to him as and when needed. In such a situation, international protection (in the form of refugee status leading to Canadian citizenship) is no longer justified. The 951 Refugee Convention states: ‘This Convention shall cease to apply to any person … [who] has voluntarily re-availed himself of the protection of the country of his nationality [i.e. Pakistan]’. The Canadian authorities can revoke his refugee status as he has voluntarily come back to Pakistan. Or Allama Sahib can renounce his status himself.
Moral: This brings us to the moral implications of the case. As Allama Sahib is no doubt a pious person and is espousing pious and upright political leadership, the option of giving up international protection (Canadian citizenship) would be most appropriate. If he continues to avail Canadian protection simultaneously with his heavy political engagement in Pakistan, and the fact that all those organisations, although proscribed, exist and are very active, ie, the threat is out there, it will raise doubts about the genuineness of his asylum claim in Canada. And also, both positions – refugee status in Canada and his choice to become politically active in Pakistan, a country which he left because of persecution - do not fit within the confines of refugee law.
The author is a senior lecturer in law at the University of Hull, UK.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 19th, 2013.
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He is a citizen with full rights. It is the Canadian generous policy which has allowed not only him but many other "Mullahs" who have entered Canada under the pretext of religious teachers who have been spreading hatered against the host country,its values and culture and divisiveness / secretarian hatered amongst Muslims, This phenomenon is well documented from weekly sermons in Mosques. There is no check of such characters in "Immigration". Abuse of generosity goes on. Trouble lies ahead. Nothing will happen to Qadri
@am2287: very well said, it is unlike MQM that they are still mohajirs even after 60+ years.
Why to narrate Qadri's moral problem so mildly? It would be only appropriate to give Qadri a taste of his own medicine: the harsh language he uses for the so called corrupt and hypocrite politicians.
The author has conveniently forgotten an important point. Mr. Qadri is already a Canadian citizen not a refugee or asylum claimant. Unlike Pakistan, Canada does not restrict or tell its citizens what to do. This is guaranteed under the charter of rights and freedoms, which is entrenched in the Canadian constitution. Given that Mr. Qadri is a Canadian citizen, he is free to do what he wants. And if that means promoting democracy in another part of the world, I have no doubt that the Canadian government will welcome it.
My concern is that the author of this article is not aware of these basic rights of Canadian citizens yet has managed a faculty position as a senior lecturer in the University of Hull, UK. Yet he writes like any other local journalist, trying to appease some party. Its not even an op-ed.
At the very least, the author should have done some due diligence before coming up with this silly and misleading article.
TUQ sahib: Welcome Back: We need to chat that why/how did you create such a nice drama in Punjab?
you don't know much about Canadian immigration laws do you? Once an asylum seeker becomes a Canadian citizen his refugee status ends - as long as he has lived in Canada lawfully during his residency for four straight years. As a Canadian citizen, Qadri is no longer a refugee - he can visit his country of origin, or for that matter any other country - if he so chooses. The argument that Qadri will be questioned by the RCMP or should renounce his Canadian citizenship doesn't hold water - as it is based on a flawed premise - that TUQ is still a refugee - Canadian citizens who came to Canada as refugees are also act as advocates or activists for human rights causes in the country of their birth. Some consider this their moral right - this discounts your second argument.
I am sure Canadian government has taken notice of all this and Qadri Sahab is going to face some action.
Learn opportunism from mullahs. Qadri also helped create Zia's blasphemy laws and today also says before Western media that the blasphemy laws should not be applied to non-Muslims.
It is established beyond any doubt or suspecion that Dr. Qadri obtained refugee status in Canada by fraudulent means. He should be prosecuted for this offence per law of the land. Pakistan government is under legal obligation to arrest him and hand him over to Canadian authorities. There may be more persons who have followed suit in Canada for refugee status. They should be monitored by Canadian intelligence and internal security agencies, deported back to Pakistan or imprisoned.