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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Asylum and Immigration Tribunal >> IA and Others (Ahmadis: Rabwah) Pakistan CG [2007] UKAIT 00088 (23 October 2007) URL: https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKIAT/2007/00088.html Cite as: [2007] UKAIT 00088, [2007] UKAIT 88 |
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IA and Others (Ahmadis: Rabwah) Pakistan
CG [2007] UKAIT 00088
ASYLUM AND IMMIGRATION TRIBUNAL
Date of hearing: 15-17 August 2007
Date Determination notified: 23 October 2007
Before
Senior Immigration Judge Gleeson
Between
IA & Ors | APPELLANT |
and | |
Secretary of State for the Home Department | RESPONDENT |
DETERMINATION AND REASONS
Contrary to what is said in KM (Pakistan
) [2004] UKAIT 00302, MM (
Pakistan
) CG [2002] UKIAT 05714, KK (
Pakistan
) [2005] UKIAT 00033, MC (
Pakistan
) [2004] UKIAT 00139, and AZ (
Pakistan
) CG [2002] UKIAT 02642, Rabwah does not constitute a safe haven for any Ahmadi at risk of persecution elsewhere in
Pakistan
and should not, without more, be treated as an appropriate place of internal relocation.
"BY CONSENT IT IS ORDERED THAT:
1. the appeal be allowed
2. the determination of the Immigration Judge, Miss Clough promulgated on 16 January 2006 be quashed
3. the matter be remitted back to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal for re-determination, limited to the issue of whether the Appellant can be expected to relocate to Rabwah. Such issue is to include consideration of the general safety of Ahmadis, as well as whether it would be unduly harsh to relocate there
4. … ."
"3.7.4 Rabwah is the headquarters of the Ahmadi movement inPakistan
and is made up of ninety-five per cent Ahmadis. Although Rabwah does provide a degree of community support to individual Ahmadis, there are reports suggesting that Rabwah is targeted by fundamentalist Islamic grounds for anti-Ahmadi protests and other actions. Enquiries through the British High Commission in Islamabad show that very few Ahmadis are represented in public and semi-public organisations in Rabwah. Approximately 54% of the voting population of Rabwah are Ahmadi, but it appears that Ahmadis do not normally vote in or contest elections."
To that extent, therefore, the Secretary of State's view is congruent with our view on the evidence before us.
"… the HRCP stated that safety in Rabwah depends on the nature of the persecution and/or the influence of the persecutor. For example, if a neighbour wishes to take over an Ahmadi's business by capitalising on anti-Ahmadi sentiment, then the job of the persecutor is complete once the Ahmadi has left the local community. However, should the persecutor be a person of influence or means, they may use this to follow their target to Rabwah as well. … ."
There is therefore a difference between those who are targeted or pursued, in particular those in respect of whom there is some institutional pursuit on the one hand, and those who are merely the victims of local Sunnis who want to take advantage of restrictions on Ahmadis in order to secure some financial or other advantage for themselves.
C M G OCKELTON
DEPUTY PRESIDENT
Date:
Annex A: Background materials before the Tribunal
1 | Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Report, ![]() ![]() |
November 1996 |
2 | Amnesty International Report, ![]() ![]() |
15 May 2001 |
3 | Human Rights Committee Rabwah note: "To Whom It May Concern" | 22 March 2005 |
4 | Immigration and Refugee Board in Canada Report: "The situation of members of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam" | 31 August 2005 |
5 | Correspondence between Mr T McNulty Esq and Lord Avebury | August – October 2005 |
6 | Letter from Dr Iftikhar Ayaz | 15 September 2005 |
7 | Freedom House: Freedom in the World 2006, ![]() ![]() |
6 June 2006 |
8 | UK Home Office IND Operational Guidance Note, ![]() ![]() |
19 June 2006 |
9 | U.S Department of State International Religious Freedom Report 2006, ![]() ![]() |
15 September 2006 |
10 | Report by Dr R Ballard: "The Ahmadis of ![]() ![]() |
30 November 2006 |
11 | Parliamentary Human Rights Group Report: "Rabwah: A place for Martyrs" | 26 January 2007 |
12 | UK Home Office ![]() ![]() |
30 April 2007 |
13 | Human Rights Watch Report: "![]() ![]() |
8 May 2007 |
14 | Amnesty International Report: "Amnesty International Report 2007: ![]() ![]() |
23 May 2007 |
15 | US Commission on International Religious Freedom Report, ![]() ![]() |
11 June 2007 |
16 | Report by Dr R Ballard: "The Ahmadiyyas of ![]() ![]() |
8 August 2007 |
17 | Report by Dr R Ballard: "![]() ![]() |
Undated |
Annex B: Specific Documents
• Supplementary bundle
1 | Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Report, ![]() ![]() |
November 1996 |
2 | State of Human Rights Report extract: "Freedom of thought, conscience and religion" | 2003 |
3 | Human Rights Committee Rabwah note: "To Whom It May Concern" | 22 March 2005 |
4 | Correspondence between Mr T McNulty Esq and Lord Avebury | August – October 2005 |
5 | Appendices to Parliamentary Human Rights Report (2007) B1: Notifications from the Government of the Punjab banning Ahmadi materials |
19 July, 1 September and 9 September 2006 |
B2: Photographs supplied by the Ahmadi Community | Undated | |
B3: Police Report (FIR) against the entire population of Rabwah | 15 December 1989 |
|
B4: Circulars from the Ministry of Interior, Government of ![]() |
8 May 2006 and 8 June 2006 | |
B5: The Nation newspaper article: "College building declared dangerous" | Undated |
|
B6: Public Auction Notice, taken from The Daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Lahore | 5 December 2005 |
|
B7: Material relating to Rabwah water supply | 7 October 2004 | |
F: Photographs of Mullah Arshad's Khatme Nabuwwat mosque and damage to adjacent Ahmadi headstones | Undated |