Paul Keenan
Country attempting to stem asylum flood
Pakistan has placed travel bans on Christians seeking to reach South and South East Asian countries as record numbers seek asylum there, it has been alleged.
According to a report carried by the Pakistan Christian Post, the issue has been highlighted by Dr Nazir S. Bhatti, President of Pakistan Christian Congress (PCC) who has publicly criticised both the Pakistan government and Interior Ministry for issuing Exit Control List orders to airports in order to have Christians removed from designated flights. The Exit Control List exists to prevent wanted persons from fleeing legal proceedings in Pakistan, but, according to the PCC, are now being employed to prevent persecuted Christians from flying to countries with a view to seeking political asylum.
The Christian Post reported that, currently, there are over 9,000 Pakistani Christians in Thailand, more than 4,000 in Sri Lanka, more than 2,000 in Malaysia and hundreds in Singapore and Hong Kong, waiting for decisions on their asylum cases registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The surge in Christian migration from Pakistan commenced in 2009 after an outbreak of Muslim violence in the Punjabi village of Gorja. Six Christians were killed after Muslims enraged at an alleged case of Koran desecration launched an assault on a Christian enclave. That same year, the PCC filed a petition to the UN to grant refugee status to Pakistani Christians attempting to flee the country, but this was blocked by Pakistan’s government.
According to the PCC, the current travel bans are part of a wider effort to stem a potentially embarrassing flow of citizens from persecution, not least under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. In Thailand, the PCC alleges, diplomatic staff are engaged in dissuading asylum seekers from pursuing their cases, often through financial bribery. Dr Bhatti stated that a full report on the tactics employed in Thailand will be issued soon.
