PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday restrained the deportation of two Afghan journalists and a former Afghan military officer for two months, directing the Ministry of Interior to decide their requests for temporary stay in Pakistan within the stipulated period.
The court, however, reserved its judgment on similar petitions filed by five other Afghan nationals, including a former Afghan Supreme Court judge and two former Afghan National Army generals.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Wiqar Ahmad and Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel heard eight constitutional petitions filed by Afghan nationals seeking temporary protection from deportation on humanitarian grounds.
The court granted interim relief to former Afghan military officer Mohammad Naveed Umari and Afghan journalists Syed Inamullah Salehi and Syed Munir Ahmad Hadaf.It referred their cases to the Ministry of Interior with directions to decide them within two months. Until a decision is made, the bench ordered police and other law enforcement agencies not to arrest or deport the three petitioners.
The bench reserved its verdict on the petitions filed by former Afghan Supreme Court judge Abdullah Mohammadi, former Afghan National Defence official Abdul Qayyum Umarzai, former Afghan National Army generals Baryalai Sharifi and Abdul Majeeb Ghairat, and Faheema Safi, who previously worked with a humanitarian organisation.
During the hearing, counsel for the petitioners argued that all the applicants faced serious threats to their lives in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s takeover. They submitted that the petitioners’ homes had been demolished and that they had already applied for asylum in different countries. The lawyers prayed the court to allow them a temporary stay in Pakistan until their asylum applications were processed.
Justice Wiqar Ahmad asked whether the petitioners had received letters of recommendation from any foreign country. The petitioners’ counsel informed the court that only the two journalists and Mohammad Naveed Umari had obtained such recommendation letters, while the remaining applicants had not yet received them.
