02 July 2026
By Hafeez Ullah Storai Sherani
ISLAMABAD
The Islamabad High Court, issuing an interim order, has restrained the federal authorities from deporting three Afghan refugee women in particular, who have approached the court for citizenship on the basis of their marriage to Pakistani citizens. The court has banned any kind of disciplinary or administrative action or deportation against these women while the petition remains pending.
According to the petitioners’ counsel, Adv Umar Ijaz Gillani, this case involves three Afghan women, of whom two are real sisters and one is a cousin.
These women were born in Pakistan to Afghan refugees and are married to three Pakistani brothers, since over a decade according to some reports.
Currently, these families have 15 children altogether, and the families reside in Khushab. Following the implementation of the Government of Pakistan’s ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’, the district administration and police issued orders for these women to leave the country, due to which these families were facing potential deportation.
According to the petition, these women had approached the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports for citizenship under Section 10 of the Pakistan Citizenship Act 1951, which grants citizenship rights to foreign women married to Pakistani citizens. However, the department, citing the Pakistan Citizenship Rules 1952, imposed an additional condition that the petitioners must provide proof of residence in Pakistan along with a 5-year valid visa on their passports.
According to the petitioners’ counsel, Umar Ijaz Gillani, they challenged this condition through a petition filed in the Islamabad High Court and raised the following important legal and constitutional points:
Absence of Visa Condition in the Primary Law
Umar Ijaz Gillani’s stance is that under the Pakistan Citizenship Act 1951, there is no condition for foreign wives to hold a 5-year valid visa.
“The section of the law, Section 10(2) of the Citizenship Act, nowhere states that they must have a visa in Pakistan. In fact, it states that a woman who marries a Pakistani man, being the wife of a Pakistani man, is entitled to Pakistani citizenship.”
He argued that under the law, for women from countries outside the English Commonwealth, the only requirement is ‘domicile’, which means that the woman intends to reside permanently in Pakistan and has been residing here for one year.
According to the petition, the power to make rules granted to the government under Section 23 of the Act cannot revoke or limit the fundamental rights granted by the Parliament. Depriving POR (Proof of Registration) cardholders of citizenship eligibility through subsidiary legislation is illegal. The Proof of Registration cards held by the petitioners are documentary evidence issued by the Government of Pakistan itself, hence it should also be considered as legal proof of residence in Pakistan and a form of visa.
Meanwhile, the point was also raised in the petition that forcibly separating the wives of Pakistani citizens is contrary to those principles of family solidarity that are recognized in Islamic injunctions, including the Quranic teachings and the Sunnah.
The case was heard by Islamabad High Court judge, Justice Muhammad Asif. In view of the nature of the legal and constitutional questions raised in the petition, the court issued formal notices to the Federation of Pakistan, the Director General of Immigration and Passports, and, due to the constitutional questions, the Attorney General for Pakistan.
The court issued a stay order, restraining the authorities from deporting the women while the petition remains pending.
Speaking to Voicepk, Advocate Habib Tahir, a human rights activist in Balochistan and a member of the Human Rights Commission Balochistan Chapter, welcomed this judicial decision. Referencing the country’s situation and the government deadline, he said, “We welcome such a decision by the court, especially at a time when the overall deportation of Afghan refugees from the country is underway, and the government has issued orders for the arrest of undocumented individuals from July 10th. At such a time, this is good news for all those victims who have married here. However, we will have to wait for the final decision. We hope there will be exemplary judicial decisions on constitutional and humanitarian grounds, which will also play a role in improving relations between the two countries and project Pakistan’s positive role worldwide.”
In response to a question, lawyer Umar Gillani said that the number of such affected families across the country is in the thousands, but most people are hiding out of fear and were waiting for a major decision.
According to human rights organizations, there are currently more than 300,000 such Afghans residing in Pakistan whose lives could face severe threats upon returning to Afghanistan.