Controlling the flow

Chaudhry Nisar made it explicit that deportees would be accepted if there was clear and solid evidence against them

The flow of people in the direction of the European states is almost unprecedented, and the composition of the flow is from countries that are predominantly Muslim. They are being driven out by the many conflicts that have erupted across the Maghrib and the Levant in the wake of the Arab spring (a misnomer if ever there was one) as well as ethnic and religious persecution. Many are also economic migrants rather than refugees in the strict sense of the term — people seeking opportunities, jobs and incomes in countries that have them comparative to their own native lands which do not. Some commentators say that this is the largest human migration since the Second World War.



Inevitably, some of those trekking towards Europe are Pakistani, most of them are Muslims and some of them are not welcome. Those who do not qualify for entry under increasingly strict rules applied by European countries have been repatriated under the 2009 readmission agreement that allows European nations to repatriate those they deem illegal immigrants. Pakistan has recently suspended that agreement claiming that some of those sent back had been wrongly bracketed as terrorists and had not had a fair hearing before they were deported. Now, that decision has been reversed after some frantic diplomatic activity on the part of European Union (EU) states, and an immigration officer for Pakistan appointed in order to address our concern over deportations.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar has made it explicit that deportees would only be accepted if there was “clear and solid evidence” against them, placing the onus squarely on the EU. In broad terms, we support the interior minister in this matter. Immigrants and refugees, be they legal or illegal, must be dealt with fairly and equitably. Whilst tensions and anti-Muslim sentiments may be elevated today in the EU, most of the instances in which deportations have happened without due process predate the Paris attacks of November 13, going back several years in some cases. It is also worth pointing out that there is scanty evidence that terrorists are entering the EU within the migrant flow. A handful perhaps, but most terrorists in the EU have been home-grown.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th,  2015.

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