1607505 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the claims of two applicants seeking protection visas for Pakistan. The applicants, an unmarried woman and a widowed woman, both stated they had faced problems due to their deceased father and brother's involvement with the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) in Pakistan. They claimed to have received threats against their lives and feared returning to Pakistan.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether there was a real chance the applicants would suffer serious harm if returned to Pakistan, based on their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. Alternatively, the Tribunal had to determine if there were substantial grounds to believe that as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of their removal to Pakistan, they faced a real risk of suffering significant harm. The Tribunal also considered the definition of "significant harm" and the circumstances under which a person would not be considered to face such a risk, as outlined in the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth).

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicants' claims did not meet the criteria for a protection visa. While acknowledging the applicants' stated fears and their family's past involvement with the MQM, the Tribunal found no real chance of serious harm or significant harm upon their return to Pakistan. The Tribunal noted that the applicants did not satisfy the criterion in s.36(2) of the Act, which includes provisions for well-founded fear of persecution and complementary protection. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision not to grant the protection visas.