Free the Pakistani Students

free-pakistani-students

Other Pakistan’s campaign to free the Pakistani students arrested under terrorism charges in Britain continues. Readers and the media are advised to track progress of the campaign by visiting this page regularly in order to obtain the most recent information. Posts and information can be viewed separately below or by scrolling down on this page:

The Forgotten Pakistani Students

Pakistani Students

Courtesy of Stop the Deportation of Pakistani Students

Haji Hazrat Ali shows a photo of his son Muhammed who was arrested on terrorism charges in the UK many moons ago. Unfortunately the Pakistani students issue and their continued incarceration in the UK is yesterday’s news. In a Pakistan bedevilled daily by death and destruction, the Pakistani students who were accused of terrorism in the UK and their plight is a story forgotten by many.

Eight out of the ten students who were arrested were forced to leave the UK, deported with their dignity and reputation in tatters irrespective of the fact that all eight were released without a single charge of terrorism. The blundering British Prime Minister Gordon Brown who had warned of ‘ a very big terrorist plot’ was made to eat his words, yet his government showed a disdain for justice and fairplay in  deporting the innocent students back to Pakistan on national security grounds even after their release.

Today, two students remain incarcerated in the UK as they have decided to fight their deportation and we at OP support their cause and pledge to continue our campaign to secure their release. The full details of the scandal have been shared by an investigative report by Declan Walsh in The Guardian and I share it below:

Pakistani Students Fight To Clear Their Names After Arrest In Anti-Terror Raids

A group of Pakistani students arrested but not charged after anti-terrorist raids last April are fighting to clear their names after MI5 claims that they belong to al-Qaida or are a threat to national security.

The 10 students were released without charge after the raids in Manchester, Liverpool and Lancashire, but eight have been forced to leave Britain and two remain in jail fighting deportation.

The Guardian has interviewed seven of those sent to Pakistan, who say their lives have been ruined – their studies over, money lost and little prospect of being able to travel to the west again – because of thin and speculative evidence.

Their accounts, corroborated by Home Office papers and police interview notes, raise questions about the basis of the raids. No evidence of bomb-making equipment or a specific plot emerged. Photographs used by police as evidence of “commando” training in north Wales were on Facebook, the students say, and innocent dinners were misconstrued as terrorist planning meetings.

Recently a young London woman has emerged whose testimony, lawyers say, challenges an email at the heart of the case against the students.

“The whole thing is rubbish. There was no bomb factory, no link to al-Qaida and they know it,” said Janas Khan, 25, a business student now back in Peshawar. “They just wanted to get us out of the country to avoid embarrassment.” Khan said his life had been ruined by the experience.

The case has strained relations between Britain and Pakistan, whose prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani met Brown in London today. Pakistani officials have insisted the students are innocent and disputed Brown’s description of the case as a “very big terrorist plot”.

Gilani said he had discussed the students with the foreign secretary, David Miliband, after his meeting with Brown and Miliband had promised him he would facilitate British visas for the students.

Pakistan’s high commissioner to the UK, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, said of the men: “They have been clean-slated. Two of them are testing their cases here.”

Papers lodged with the special immigration appeals commission show the case hinges on their association with a Peshawar student, Abid Naseer, 23, a computer student at Liverpool John Moores University, seen as the “central figure” behind the alleged plot, with supposed links to al-Qaida and a foreign-based terror cell.

Home Office papers relating to the other Pakistanis contain an MI5 assessment that Naseer “acted in support of AQ attack planning activities within the UK. The security service assesses that the network co-ordinated by Abid Naseer is engaged in operational activity with the most likely explanation being that it is attack planning against unspecified UK targets. The security service assesses that [name of student] has acted in support of Naseer’s terrorism related activities in the UK … given the likely attack plans the network are assessed to have been involved in at the time of their arrest, they may seek to re-embark on their planned activity if permitted to remain in the UK.”

The eight who returned to Pakistan did so rather than stay in maximum security jail for months awaiting an appeal against deportation.

Lord Carlile, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, supported the arrests in a report last week but said police should have taken advice from the crown prosecution service and had they done so fewer might have been held.

Ten Pakistani students and one British-Pakistani man were arrested. As the students were questioned the press linked them to plots, including attacks on Old Trafford, home of Manchester United, the city’s Arndale shopping centre and a nightclub. Police searched 25 houses, examined dozens of laptops and mobile phones and recorded 222 interview tapes. But after 14 days they were released without charge. The British citizen, Hamza Shinwari, walked free. But the Home Office moved to deport the Pakistanis, describing them as a threat to national security. The Home Office case relies partly on secret evidence – believed to be MI5 intercepts and informant statements – which it has refused to disclose to the students or their lawyers.

In interviews with the Guardian in three Pakistani cities, seven of the men said their al-Qaida reputations were hurting their ability to find jobs or even reconnect with friends. All challenged the Home Office to disclose the secret evidence. “If there is something, let it come into the open. We will happily face a trial,” said accountancy student Shoaib Khan.

The British government is of course left disgraced and degraded after the scandal. On the Pakistani side, the Pakistan government has as usual performed miracles in doing nothing except for arranging visas for the deported students which is not an achievement but proof of how concerned the rulers of Pakistan are with the state of Pakistani citizens abroad.

The Pakistani public in the UK and elswhere have largely been apathetic at best in following let alone in agitating on the issue. All in all the Pakistan students and their forgotten story represent a glimpse of what is wrong with Pakistan today, with a government impotent to act on behalf of her citizens whilst the Pakistani people remain forever-ready to act as silent spectators watching from the sidelines only to bemoan all manner of problems.

Inertia turns to action only when another Yousaf from Multan faces the problem himself, until then he will sit and tell the story of a problem in this case the arrest and deportation of Pakistani students to others. Just imagine what would have happened if one of the Pakistani students arrested and deported was from our ruling elite, imagine the Yousaf from Multan is not a poor labourer or a middle-class government official but the Yousaf who resides in PM House.

Imagine if Mr Gilani found his son to be caught up on allegations of terrorism, or worse our future saviour Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was arrested on terrorism charges and deported. I wonder how the Pakistani government would act then?, the answer is sadly so obvious it need not be stated nor written. It is this truth that it is an indictment on us as Pakistanis and on Pakistan as a whole for we care only when we are affected in person.

Pakistan Students July Update

The Pakistan students issue remains at the forefront of my work and and I deem an update necessary given I have some mixed news that needs sharing. Pakistanis inside and outside of Pakistan will be delighted as am I, at the news that two students Janas Khan and Sultan Sher were released on Tuesday.

Yet smiles soon turn into frowns when it seems their release is a smokescreen of sorts and proves once again that the British government is incapable of ending its crude dirty tricks as it now seeks their deportation on ‘visa irregularities’ and not national security as the BBC reports below:

Two terror suspects to be freed

Two Pakistani students arrested in north west England in April accused of being part of an alleged terror plot are to be released. Sultan Sher and Janus Khan were never charged but were due to be deported on the grounds of national security. Seven of the 12 men who were arrested remain in custody awaiting deportation.

Mr Sher’s solicitor called for an independent inquiry, saying his arrest and detention had been a “very serious” breach of human rights. The released pair will be required to wear electronic tags as the Home Office still wants to deport them due to visa irregularities, the BBC understands.

Twelve students were arrested in the terror raids in Manchester and Liverpool, with three subsequently released. The rest were put in prison pending deportation on the grounds of national security and their case, involving secret evidence they have not seen, is due back in court on 27 July.

Robust Measures

The Home Office said it was not allowed to detain the men indefinitely. “These individuals no longer meet the required criteria for detention on the grounds of national security. They are currently detained pending removal, but legally we cannot hold them indefinitely. We are therefore putting in place suitable and robust measures to ensure we are fully aware of their whereabouts as we progress their cases for removal.”

Mohammed Ayub, solicitor for Sultan Sher, said the men had maintained they were not extremists or terrorists. “Our clients were originally arrested in a blaze of publicity at gunpoint by the police. They were interviewed for 13 days and released into immigration detention without any criminal charges brought against them,” he said.

“Our clients’ plea of innocence is confirmed by the decision of the Home Office to firstly withdraw the intention to deport one of our clients on the grounds of national security and secondly to release him shortly. We believe that our original call for an independent inquiry into Operation Pathway has now been strengthened. We are of the opinion that lessons should be learnt as to how this investigation could have got it so terribly wrong and so that no other innocent person should have to suffer the ordeal that our clients have.”

The Independent today carries an interview with Janas Khan and I share it below:

Pakistan Students Launch Legal Action over Arrests

Janas Khan, one of two Pakistani students released from prison yesterday months after terrorism charges against them were dropped, has told The Independent on Sunday he was “shocked and angry” at his treatment by the UK Government. Lawyers acting for the remaining seven Pakistani students still held in prison have also announced they will launch a legal challenge against the Government this week.

The 26-year-old business student began to cry as he said: “Growing up we heard that the UK was the one place that respected human rights and justice, which is why I wanted to study here. I’m shocked and angry. I am innocent and I still can’t believe I was arrested on no evidence.”

Sultan Sher was also released from prison yesterday. The two were among 12 students who were arrested in April after the UK’s most senior counterterrorism officer was photographed walking into Downing Street carrying highly sensitive documents revealing details of the operation. The details were visible, and a premature police operation against an alleged al-Qa’ida plot ensued. The officer responsible, Scotland Yard’s Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, resigned.

Criminal charges against all the students were dropped in May because of insufficient evidence, but they have been kept locked in high-security prisons under immigration laws. “They never told us what it was that we were supposed to have done,” said Mr Khan. His studies were due to finish in September, but the limitations of his parole conditions means it will be impossible to travel from Manchester to meet his tutors in Liverpool.

Legal challenges for the remaining students will now add to the authorities’ embarrassment following the bungled terror case. Two lawsuits will contest the legality of the Government’s use of secret evidence in their continued imprisonment as well as the lawfulness of the initial arrest.

I am of course seething at the crude way the British government has dealt with the students but I do not lose heart and promise I will not stop until justice is served.  In terms of other developments, I am pleased to report the following progress recently:

  • Discussed the issue with Lord Nazir who has raised it at the highest levels.
  • Have had two meetings with a Cabinet Minister Liam Bryne
  • Wrote to the Home Secterary Alan Johnson for which I received a useless reply of legal mumbo jumbo only a few days ago.

Free Pakistani Students Update

I regret that I have been unable to update OP readers as to the progress of my campaign. Before I do that, I wish to share my campaign letter addressed to the Brown government and the opposition parties in the UK. A copy of the letter written to one of the opposition parties- the Liberal Democrats is produced verbatim as below:

Dear Hon Nick Clegg MP, Hon David Howarth MP, Hon Chris Huhne MP, Hon John Hemming MP

I write to you today as the founder of the Free Pakistani Students Campaign and as a British Pakistani.

I am urgently writing to you to seek your support in lending your voice for the twelve Pakistani students recently released without charge so that they are not deported under the lie of national security. I appeal to you as you are a respected member of Parliament and hope you agree that it will be an injustice to deport Pakistani citizens who have not been even charged let alone gone through a detailed legal process to prove their crime.

I am sure you can appreciate what a nasty precedent it would set and indeed its horrendous impact within the British Pakistani community need not even be stated. The attachment included in this email includes a press release that includes the legal points, further the adverse social ramifications vis a vis community relations with the Pakistani community are explored and deserve immediate attention.

I appreciate that Lord Carlile of Berriew QC will look at the case as part of his ongoing role as independent reviewer of terrorism laws, indeed this is proof that the case is deserving of your attention and support. Furthermore the case also brings to the fore the ongoing debate on terrorism laws especially with regards to foreign nationals and I quote verbatim Dominic Casciani of the BBC Home Affairs team who says that:

‘if someone is arrested on suspicion of a crime, they either end up in the dock or walking out of the police station a free man. But for foreign nationals accused of crime there is a third way – being sent directly for immigration removal. The home secretary has considerable powers to deport foreign nationals whose presence is not conducive to the public good – and she doesn’t need hard criminal evidence to go ahead. The cases will go to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, effectively a national security tribunal. It can hear evidence in secret – which means that intelligence assessments with no weight in a criminal trial can be used to ban someone from the UK . That means that we’re unlikely to ever hear the full story – and if the men lose, the security services can say they acted appropriately. It boils down to the difference between whatever the secret intelligence police and security services believed they had uncovered and the lack of evidence that the men were doing anything illegal’ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8012838.stm

As a British Pakistani I can vouch for the anger in the community here and in Pakistan and ask of you to raise your voice in parliament be it via motions and debates and in the media so that the students are not deported and can continue with their studies in the UK, for justice must prevail.

This key issue has been raised with a Cabinet Minister and with the Home Office through the good offices of MP’s including Dr Lynne Jones and Clare Short. However it has yet to yield any positive results and I write today to you to ask for your personal support for the cause and indeed your party’s support in this key matter.

The Liberal Democrats have always believed in the rule of law, liberty and justice for all and I hope you will see this key issue within that context and raise your voice in support of the Pakistani students release. The issue will also serve as a test case for the Liberal Democrats commitment to community cohesion not only in words but in actions as the Pakistani community are currently seething at the obvious double standards.

As I said in the press release it seems Operation Pathway has become Operation Persecute Pakistanis and it is time for the Liberal Democrats to make its views clear on the issue and support the rule of law and justice above all else, that is all Pakistanis in Britain ask for.

Please contact me at your earliest convenience for more information.

Yours faithfully

Mr Wasim Arif

In addition I share my campaign letter or attachment as discussed in the above commentary:

The ‘Free the Pakistani Students’ campaign led by Wasim Arif seeks the release of the ten Pakistani students who are under detention and to be deported from the UK on national security grounds. It seems that ‘Operation Pathway’ has become ‘Operation Persecute Pakistanis’ given that all ten Pakistani national students were released without charge, yet all have not been allowed to resume their studies. Worse the students have been detained awaiting deportation on a pack of lies it stands to reason given that the police did not charge a single student.

A press release issued by a lawyer for the students Amjad Malik sets out the background and legal position, and is shown below:

Press Note: Detained Pakistani Students at Manchester

I was asked by Pakistan High Commisison to represent 4 out of 10 Pakistani national students currently detained at Manchester prison who are threatened of deportation on national security grounds.

They are being deported on grounds of posing threat to national security of UK as being concerned in islamic extremist activities and for the reason that they were investigated under terrorism Act 2000 since 8 april 2009. Though no charges were brought under criminal proceedings and on 21 April, they were released from criminal invetigation to UK Border Agency who initiated immigration deportation proceedings.

If they choose to appeal their deportation orders, they will have a free standing right of appeal before ‘Special Immigration Appeals Commission’ which was set up under SIAC Act 1997.

I can confirm that legal team along with Pakistani Consul General Mr. Masroor Junejo and Welfare Attache Mr. Amir Nisar Ch met all detained students at Manchester namely; Mr. Shoiab Khan, Abdul Wahab Khan, Tariq Ur Rehman and Abid Naseer who all are well and instructed Amjad Malik, a Supreme Court Solicitor-Advocate and life member of SCBA (Pakistan) to file their appeals which have been lodged with the required court with effect from 28 April 2009.

Appeals are lodged on the grounds that:

a. That appellants are racially discriminated being Pakistani nationals and being Muslims; and That it would be against appellant’s rights under ECHR for UK to remove or deport the appellant from the United Kingdom because of that decision under the European Convention on Human Rights 1950 (Art.3,5,6, 8,9,10,14);

b. That the appellant appeals to SIAC on the following general grounds;That Home Secretary has not put forward any concrete evidence in her contention that the appellants are a threat to ‘national security’ of the UK; and or even if there is any reason to support that contention, the proper course of action would be to charge the appellant and brought them before the court of law in a criminal proceedings, but such proceedings has never been ensued and no charges were put forward by the CPS; Therefore it is appellants case on the limited information available to their defence that there is no evidence to support any charges and the arrest, detention and continuing incarceration is unlawful, and unreasonable; and without any substance;

c. That the appellant has been subjected to a one sided media trial at that time appellants were incommunicado without a lawyer, consulate access and without a phone call to their family;

d. That, in the circumstances appellant feels that they have been made a scapegoat and immigration decision is but an effort to avoid answers to questions on the failure of the operation ‘pathway’ in order to divert attention from their innocence as the appellant feel that they are ‘innocent’ until ‘proven guilty’ by a court of law.

First hearing of all 10 students appeal is likely to be set in first 2 weeks of May.

All 4 students are kept in highly secure ‘category A’ at Manchester prison on the orders of UK Border Agency.

Our first priority was to ensure that their appeals are lodged in time. Further matters of their case progress & strategy will be decided in next week by a panel of eminent lawyers in consultation with all stake holders including their bail application(s) which are likely to be heard in the 2nd week of May 09.

Amjad Malik
Solicitor-Advocate
Manchester

The ‘Free the Pakistani Students’ campaign has one demand that the Pakistani students are released and allowed to continue their studies. Furthermore it is our view that in the best interests of good community relations and more importantly good old British justice and fair play it is requested that the students are either released or charged to face a court of law. The present position of the UK government smacks of a disdain for fair play and justice and is not conducive to good community relations with a Pakistani community that increasingly feels under pressure nationally and internationally.

In terms of success, I am pleased to report that in a short space of time I can report the following:

  • A meeting with a Cabinet Minister on the issue was held who promised to pass on my concerns to the Home Secterary Jacqui Smith.
  • Dr Lynne Jones MP wrote to the Home Office Minister Phil Woolas MP on the issue in support of my stance after I sent her my campaign letter.
  • Clare Short MP wrote to the Home Office on the issue in support of my stance after I sent her my campaign letter.
  • John Hemming MP and other MP’s signed an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons asking for the Pakistani students release.

The campaign continues and it is hoped a further meeting with the Cabinet minister can be arranged. However the current MP expenses issue is dominating the political scene and hence it is d

Free the Pakistani Students

free-pakistani-students

Today I have launched a campaign to free the Pakistani students detained in the UK awaiting deportation on national security grounds. The campaign has a dedicated page as above and will include regular updates. The campaign has begun well and I am contacting British politicians to win their support and the British media to secure coverage on this key issue.

I request Pakistanis and non-Pakistanis to help in any way possible be it by passing on this post or website, speaking to a politician or a media contact or posting this post on your facebook page so the campaign can get the support and coverage it needs and deserves. For Facebook users please do attend the Free Pakistani Students Campaign Launch event via link here and send invitations to others and become a fan of Other Pakistan so you can be updated on progress