Syed Nasir Wajahat, needs help

model letter at end of message.

Syed Nasir Wajahat is seeking Political Asylum in the UK and facing difficulties with the Home Office who have already refused the application twice. A third application wad refused without any consideration.

Syed worked as a Journalist in Pakistan, he was a member of the trade union 'All Karachi News paper Society' (AKNS), working for news paper called Daily Seng-e-Meel. He wrote an article regarding a religious group by the name of Sipah Sahaba who are backed by theTaliban in Afghanistan. As a result of this, both groups started harassing him and his family in a way of shoot outs on his house and throwing stones. Phone calls threatening to kill him and his family were made. He was also stopped by the Said Groups and told that if he die not stop writing they would kill him and my family.

He reported the incidents to the Pakistani police, he was assigned one police constable which was not enough as the attackers were extremist and one constable could not protect him and his family. The incidents had become continuous at this stage but the police took no action.

Syed came to the UK in October 2000 and claimed Political Asylum.He was detained at Oakington Reception Centre and Campsfield Detention Centre for ten days and then given temporary admission.

Whilst he has been residing in the UK, there have been serious assaults on his brother by the same group and his father was assaulted and the family car smashed up. 

The Home Office have declined his application for the third time without any consideration and are asking him to leave the country. They have given him seven days to explain his case. If Syed is returned to Pakistan there is every chance he will be killed.

Syed would be grateful for any help from anyone, Below is a model letter which can be faxed to the Home Secretary David Blunket.

Syed can be contacted by email nasir_w@hotmail.com

Model letter to be faxed to Home Secretary David Blunket:

Fax: 020-7273-3965

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Rt. Hon. David Blunkett MP

Home Secretary

Home Office

50 Queen Anne’s Gate

London SW1H 9AT

Dear Home Secretary,

Re: Syed Nasir Wajahat - Home Office Ref. S1083763

I am writing regarding the threat of deportation to Syed Nasir Wajahat, a journalist who wrote extensively for many newspapers in his native Pakistan. Mr Wajahat was threatened and harrassed by militant Islamic groups after writing articles critical of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. His home was shot at and stoned and threatening phone calls were made to him threatening his life and the lives of his family.

Mr Wajahat came to the United Kingdom in October 2000. On arrival he applied for asylum at the airport and was detained for ten days in Oakington and Campsfield Detention Centres. His application and subsequent appeals were refused, not because there was no well-founded fear of persecution, but because of a technicality. After explaining that the Pakistan authorities took the threats to his life seriously enough to assign a police officer to protect him, Mr Wajahat made the fatal error of suggesting that a single policeman could not save him from extremist Islamic militants. The number of police and security personnel allocated to protect Mr Salman Rushdie in a country thousands of miles away from the issuers of the fatwa certainly suggest that his view was not entirely wrong.

While Mr Wajahat has been in the UK the harrassment of his family has continued. His brother was seriously assaulted by the same group which had threatened him, and Mr Wajahat’s father’s car was smashed up and he was assaulted also. These continuing attacks clearly indicate that Syed Nasir Wajahat’s live would be in danger if he returned to Pakistan.

I would like to ask you to reconsider the decision to deport Syed Nasir Wajahat to Pakistan. Please allow him to remain safe in the UK. If Mr Wajahat cannot be granted full refugee status then I would appeal to you to exercise your powers of discretion in this case and allow Mr Wajahat to remain on humanitarian grounds. I know this can be done because I am aware of other cases where your predecessors have shown mercy to individuals and allowed them to stay on compassionate grounds, outside the Immigration Rules. I ask you to show similar clemency in this case.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

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Messages of support to Syed email     nasir_w@hotmail.com

Please notify Syed if you send a fax