Brit-Pak lawyers’ body concerned over Pak Kashmir spouse visa refusals
By ANIThursday, December 31, 2009
LONDON - The Association of Pakistani Lawyers UK (APL) has sent a letter sent to British Foreign Secretary David Miliband expressing concern over refusal of spouse visas for applicants who have contracted a valid marriage in Pakistan-administered Kashmir under the law of the land.
APL Chairman Barrister Amjad Malik wrote the letter to Miliband complaining that the British High Commission in Islamabad had recently started refusing applicants with proper marriage certificates on the basis that these certificates do not prove that a valid marriage has been contracted.
He wrote that a proclamation was made in May 1988 to amend the form of marriage certificate issued in Pakistan-administered Kashmir to a ‘Nikah Khawan’ but this change was not actually implemented until recently.
As a result, APL clients and service users though they have contracted a valid marriage could not get visas for their spouses on technical misunderstanding of the law and procedural change at the hands of BHC.
According to The Telegraph, the APL requested Miliband and Home Secretary Alan Johnson to clear the situation and asked for a legal opinion into the procedural changes that have taken place in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
It suggested that a circular be issued to remove the misunderstanding. (ANI)
