A Pakistani refugee who returned to his home country six times between 2016 and 2022 has won a judicial review, giving him another chance to retain his Canadian refugee status, reports the National Post.Irfan Ahmad came to Canada in 2014 under the “Convention Refugee Abroad” programme. He said he faced persecution as a member of the Ahmadi community, a religious minority in Pakistan.His refugee status was later revoked after immigration authorities found he had travelled back to Pakistan on multiple occasions, spending a total of 336 days in the country. Ahmad had also visited the Pakistani consulate in Toronto twice to obtain a passport.Canada’s Refugee Protection Division had decided that Ahmad “voluntarily re-availed himself of the protection of Pakistan” and had not given enough evidence to challenge this. The tribunal also questioned his stories of persecution, saying his description “evolved depending on his audience,” changing between fear of religious extremists and government authorities. The RPD found Ahmad’s statements inconsistent and said his actions, including a large wedding and bringing his family to Pakistan, showed a lack of personal fear of persecution.On February 18, Federal Court Justice Avvy Yao-Yao Go ruled in favour of Ahmad, saying the RPD found inconsistencies “where none existed.” The judge added that the tribunal “compounded this error by failing to consider a key precautionary measure that the applicant took against the religious extremists while in Pakistan,” including avoiding attendance at mosques.“While the RPD noted the applicant’s evidence that he did not attend mosque or engage with the broader community,” Go wrote, And added: “The RPD never engaged with this evidence when conducting its analysis on the applicant’s intention…Rather, the RPD focused on the fact that the applicant had a ‘large wedding,’ the duration of his visits, and the fact that the applicant brought his family to Pakistan, and found these factors to indicate a lack of subjective fear of persecution. By failing to engage with a critical piece of evidence that may rebut the intent to reavail, the RDP fell short of its heightened duty to provide justified, transparent, and intelligible reasons to explain its decision.”The court granted Ahmad a judicial review and sent the case back “for redetermination by a differently constituted panel of the Refugee Protection Division.”Ahmad’s lawyer, Daniel Kingwell, praised the ruling. “We are very pleased with the judge’s ruling. The court recognized that Mr. Ahmad had provided a number of reasons for returning to Pakistan that were not adequately assessed by the Board – in particular to attend to essential family duties including his marriage, the birth of his child, and the illnesses and deaths of his parents,” Kingwell said. He added that Ahmadi mosques were the “primary targets” of extremists and Ahmad’s conduct in Pakistan was consistent with his ongoing need for refugee protection.Immigration lawyer Sergio Karas questioned the decision, citing Ahmad’s repeated and lengthy visits as undermining his refugee claim. “While brief trips for emergencies may be understandable, multiple trips over an extended period of time, and remaining in the country of alleged persecution for weeks or months, seem to be at odds with the alleged fear of persecution. Also, obtaining Pakistani passports not once, but twice, points to a lack of concern for safety,” Karas said.
