Court asks government to deport Pakistani national soon

NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the union home ministry to make arrangements for the deportation of a Pakistani national, who has alleged that he is in illegal custody as he has completed his prison term for staying in India without valid documents.

Akhtar Ali, in a plea, submitted that since he has already undergone the prison term of two years given by a trial court in 2007, he should be deported back to his country.

Hearing the application, a division bench of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S. Muralidhar asked the ministry to expeditiously process the deportation and posted the matter for Nov 26.

Ali, a resident of Karachi in Pakistan, said his name has been wrongly included with 67 members of Mehdi Foundation, who last year moved court seeking directions that they should not be sent to Pakistan as there is threat to their life.

The high court had stayed the government’s decision to deport the Pakistani nationals.

I am not a member of Mehdi foundation and my name is wrongly included in the list of 67 jailed Pakistani nationals. I have no threat to my life so I should be deported back to my country, Ali said in his application.

Ali alleged that due to laxity of ministry of home affairs he is in illegal custody.

In April, 2007, members of the Mehdi Foundation had fled Pakistan fearing prosecution on the charges of blasphemy as they belonged to a multi-faith spiritual organisation that promoted the doctrine of divine love.

After coming to India, the members had staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in the capital and burnt their Pakistani passports.