ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif still has several legal remedies available to prolong his stay in the United Kingdom despite British Home Office’s refusal to extend his further stay in the country.
The opposition PML-N confirmed on Thursday that the Home Office has refused to extend Nawaz’s further stay on medical grounds in the UK—a decision that prompted the London-based three time premier of Pakistan to file an appeal in the British Immigration Tribunal against the decision.
After some reports about refusal in extension of visa emerged in the media, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government again pushed the opposition party leader to come back in the country to face corruption cases before courts and serve his remaining sentence, in a corruption reference, in jail.
The government in the past had been claiming that it was in talks with the British to bring former PM in the country either through deportation or extradition.
The supporters of ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insafe (PTI) are also trying to give an impression on social media platforms that the decision of Home Office would force the ex-PM to come back in the country putting the seasoned politician into further troubles. The question arises here whether Nawaz can return to country in the next months to come or not?
Background interviews with some Pakistan-based and British legal experts reveal that former PM has had still several legal remedies available to plead his case of extension in visa for UK and it will take a long time to reach a final decision making easy for him to prolong his stay in the British.
“It is a lengthy process and British Home Office will not be able to expel former PM from the UK until all his appeal rights and legal remedies are exhausted,” said Muzzammil Mukhtar, a London-based lawyer.
Nawaz has been living in London since November 2019 after the court allowed him to travel abroad for four weeks for medical treatment. He has still a valid British visit visa but a visitor, having any sort of visa category including medical or family visa, cannot remain in the UK for more than six months at a time. Such a visitor has to get an extension after every six months. Since then, Nawaz also had been getting extensions in his stay till the Home Office rejected his application for another extension in visa.
According to details shared by his party with the media, Nawaz has filed an appeal in the British Immigration Tribunal against the decision and it will take six to eight months keeping in the huge pendency of the cases with it. “The date of hearing for those appeals that we had filed in October to December last year has not been fixed by the tribunal till yet,” said Mukhtar, the director of Synthesis Chambers Solicitors in London.
If the tribunal dismissed the appeal of Nawaz, he can file an appeal against the decision in the Immigration Upper Tribunal and this will take another six or more months. Even if Upper Tribunal dismissed his appeal, former PM still has the right to file a new application of his extension in visa under a different category. “He can file a further application based on the human rights or a protection claim (to live in UK),” said Mukhtar.
In December last year, the Islamabad High Court had declared Nawaz a proclaimed offender in two corruption cases, Avenfield properties and Al-Azizia Steel Mills, after he failed to appear before the court. Following this, the government refused to renew his passport that expired in February this year.
The legal minds are of the view that a person having no passport is being considered a “stateless” in any part of the world and Nawaz can make a “protection claim” to live in UK since Pakistan government has refused to renew his passport. They are of the view that it will be extremely difficult for the British under its laws to expel him from the country if Nawaz sought a protection claim on such grounds.