1802567 (Refugee)

1802567 (Refugee) [2023] AATA 2468 (28 April 2023)
DECISION RECORD
DIVISION:Migration & Refugee Division
REPRESENTATIVE:  Ms Jennifer Blakeman
CASE NUMBER:  1802567
COUNTRY OF REFERENCE:                   Pakistan
MEMBER:Peter Haag
DATE:28 April 2023
PLACE OF DECISION:  Melbourne
DECISION:The Tribunal remits the matter for reconsideration with the following directions:
(i)that the first named applicant satisfies s 36(2)(a) of the Migration Act 1958; and
(ii)that the other applicants satisfy s 36(2)(b)(i) of the Migration Act 1958, based on membership of the same family unit as the first named applicant.

Statement made on 28 April 2023 at 1:02pm
CATCHWORDS
REFUGEE – Protection Visa – Pakistan – race – Muhajir ethnicity – religion – Shia Muslim –political opinion – in support of lmran Khan and his political party Pakistan Tehreek-elnsaaf – father and uncle were very active members for the Pakistan People’s Party – a very active and well-known member of the Shia community – religious persecution is the essential and significant reason for the real chance of systematic and discriminatory persecution the applicant would face– state protection will not be available to the applicant – member of the same family unit as the applicant – decision under review remitted

LEGISLATION
Migration Act 1958, ss 5H, 36, 65, 91, 499
Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 2

Any references appearing in square brackets indicate that information has been omitted from this decision pursuant to section 431 of the Migration Act 1958 and replaced with generic information which does not allow the identification of an applicant, or their relative or other dependant.
STATEMENT OF DECISION AND REASONS
APPLICATION FOR REVIEW

This is an application for review of a decision made by a delegate of the Minister for Home Affairs on 24 January 2018 to refuse to grant the applicants protection visas under s 65 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) (the Act).
The applicants, who claim to be citizens of Pakistan, applied for the visas on 18 March 2016. The delegate refused to grant the visas on the basis that the applicant is not a person in respect of whom Australia has protection obligations as outlined in s 36(2)(a) or s 36(2)(aa) and is not a member of the same family unit as a non-citizen in respect of whom the Minister is satisfied Australia has protection obligations and who holds a protection visa of the same class as that applied for by the applicant (s 36(2)(b) and s 36(2)(c) of the Act).
The applicants appeared before the Tribunal on 18 April 2023 to give evidence and present arguments. The Tribunal also received oral evidence from [Mrs A]. The Tribunal hearing was conducted with the assistance of an interpreter in the Urdu and English languages.
The applicants were represented in relation to the review.
CRITERIA FOR A PROTECTION VISA
The criteria for a protection visa are set out in s 36 of the Act and Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) (the Regulations). An applicant for the visa must meet one of the alternative criteria in s 36(2)(a), (aa) (b) or (c). That is, he or she is either a person in respect of whom Australia has protection obligations under the ‘refugee’ criterion, or on other ‘complementary protection’ grounds, or is a member of the same family unit as such a person and that person holds a protection visa of the same class.
Section 36(2)(a) provides that a criterion for a protection visa is that the applicant for the visa is a non-citizen in Australia in respect of whom the Minister is satisfied Australia has protection obligations because the person is a refugee.
A person is a refugee if, in the case of a person who has a nationality, they are outside the country of their nationality and, owing to a well-founded fear of persecution, are unable or unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that country: s 5H(1)(a). In the case of a person without a nationality, they are a refugee if they are outside the country of their former habitual residence and, owing to a well-founded fear of persecution, are unable or unwilling to return to that country: s 5H(1)(b).
Under s 5J(1), a person has a well-founded fear of persecution if they fear being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, there is a real chance they would be persecuted for one or more of those reasons, and the real chance of persecution relates to all areas of the relevant country. Additional requirements relating to a ‘well-founded fear of persecution’ and circumstances in which a person will be taken not to have such a fear are set out in ss 5J(2)-(6) and ss 5K-LA, which are extracted in the attachment to this decision.
If a person is found not to meet the refugee criterion in s 36(2)(a), he or she may nevertheless meet the criteria for the grant of the visa if he or she is a non-citizen in Australia in respect of whom the Minister is satisfied Australia has protection obligations because the Minister has substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of being removed from Australia to a receiving country, there is a real risk that he or she will suffer significant harm: s 36(2)(aa) (‘the complementary protection criterion’). The meaning of significant harm, and the circumstances in which a person will be taken not to face a real risk of significant harm, are set out in ss 36(2A) and (2B), which are extracted in the attachment to this decision.
Section 5AAA of the Act
Pursuant to s 5AAA of the Act, it is for the review applicant to specify all particulars of their claim to be a person in respect of whom Australia has protection obligations, and to provide sufficient evidence to establish the claim. The Tribunal does not have any responsibility or obligation to specify, or assist the applicant in specifying, any particulars of their claim, nor does the Tribunal have any responsibility or obligation to establish or assist in establishing the claim. The Tribunal has applied this provision of the Act when considering the claims and evidence.
Mandatory considerations
In accordance with Ministerial Direction No.84, made under s 499 of the Act, the Tribunal has taken account of the ‘Refugee Law Guidelines’ and ‘Complementary Protection Guidelines’ prepared by the Department of Home Affairs, and country information assessments prepared by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) expressly for protection status determination purposes, to the extent that they are relevant to the decision under consideration.
CONSIDERATION OF Claims and evidence
The issue in this case is whether the applicant is a person in respect of whom Australia has protection obligations as outlined in s 36(2)(a) or s 36(2)(aa) of the Act. For the following reasons, the Tribunal has concluded that the applications should be remitted for reconsideration.
Applicant’s background
In his application for a protection visa the applicant claims to be a citizen of Pakistan, born in Karachi, Pakistan, on [date]. He claims to be a Shia Muslim who can speak, read, and write in English and Urdu.
The applicant stated that he was married on [date] August 2009 to the second named applicant in Karachi, Pakistan. He listed his father, mother, sister and two brothers, who are all citizens of Pakistan currently residing in the [Country 1].
The applicant previously lived in Karachi, Pakistan, between July 1984 and December 2006. Since September 2006 he has lived at various addresses in Melbourne, Australia.
The applicant completed his primary, secondary and high school education between April 1990 and December 2003 in Karachi, Pakistan. He completed the following tertiary courses in Melbourne, Australia, between October 2006 and December 2011:
[courses deleted].
He withdrew from the following courses in Melbourne, Australia, between February 2007 and December 2008:
·[courses deleted].
In his application for a protection visa, the applicant stated he was employed [Occupation 1][in] Karachi, Pakistan, between July 2004 and August 2006. Between August 2010 and June 2012, the applicant was employed as an [Occupation 1] for [Company 1] in Melbourne, Australia. Between August 2012 and March 2016, he was employed as a [Manager] in Melbourne, Australia.
Secondary applicants
The second named applicant claims to be a citizen of Pakistan, born in Karachi, Pakistan, on [date]. She claims to be a Shia Muslim who can speak, read and write in English and Urdu.
The applicant stated that she was married on [date] August 2009 to the first named applicant in Karachi, Pakistan. At the time of her application, she listed her father, mother and sister, who are citizens of Pakistan currently residing in [Country 2], and her brother who is a citizen of Pakistan currently residing in [Country 3].
The applicant lived in Karachi, Pakistan, between August 1984 and February 1989. Between February 1989 and May 2011, she lived in [Country 2]. She has lived in Melbourne, Australia, since May 2011.
The applicant completed her primary, secondary and high school education between March 1989 and July 2002 in [Country 2]. She completed the following tertiary courses in Karachi, Pakistan, between February 2005 and April 2007:
·[courses deleted].
In her protection visa application, she listed her employment as a [occupation] with [a company] in [Country 2], between May 2007 and February 2011.
The third named applicant is the child of the first and second named applicants. She is a citizen of Pakistan born in Melbourne, Australia, on [date]. She is a Shia Muslim who has lived in Melbourne, Australia, since [birth].
Applicant’s identity
The applicant provided the Department with certified copies of Pakistani passports and Pakistani National ID Cards for each of the named applicants. The applicant provided a certified copy of a birth certificate for the third named applicant, registered in Victoria, Australia, on [date], and a certified copy of a marriage certificate for the first and second named applicants, registered on 7 August 2009.
The documents provided by the applicant are consistent with his evidence to the Tribunal in relation to his identity. There is no evidence to suggest that the applicant has a right to enter and/or reside, whether temporarily or permanently, in any other country. Therefore, based on the information provided by the applicant, the Tribunal finds that he is a citizen of Pakistan, and as such his protection claims will be assessed against Pakistan as the country of reference and ‘receiving country’ respectively.
Migration history
The applicant first arrived in Australia on [date] September 2006 on a [Student] visa.
On [date] December 2008 the applicant travelled to Pakistan to visit family and returned to Australia on [date] January 2008.
On [date] February 2011 the applicant travelled to Pakistan to visit family and returned to Australia on [date] March 2011.
On[date] May 2011 the second named applicant arrived in Australia as a dependant on the first named applicant’s [Student] visa.
On [date] December 2013 the first and second named applicants travelled to [Country 4] in order to apply offshore for a 457 Temporary Work visa. They returned to Australia on [date] December 2012.
On 17 April 2013 the applicant’s 457 Temporary Work visa application was refused.
On 18 March 2016 the applicant applied for a protection visa with the second and third named applicants as dependants. On 24 January 2018 their application for a protection visa was refused.
On 1 February 2018 the applicant lodged an application with the Tribunal for review of the protection visa refusal decision.
Claims for protection and other supporting documentation
The applicant submitted his claims for protection when he lodged his protection visa application with the Department on 18 March 2016. The applicant’s claims, as stated in the application documents, are reproduced here:[1]
[1]
88 I am seeking protection in Australia so that I do not have to return to (name of country or countries that you are able to legally enter and/or reside in. This includes countries you are a citizen or national of or you have a current visa for).
PAKISTAN
89 Why did you leave that country(s)? Provide specific details
CAME TO AUSTRALIA FOR STUDIES
90 What do you think will happen to you if you return to that country(s)?
IF I HAVE TO RETURN TO PAKISTAN, I CANNOT PROTECT ME & MY FAMILY FROM PERSECUTION.
91 Did you experience harm in that country(s)?
No
…
93 Did you move, or try to move, to another part of that country(s) to seek safety?
No
BECAUSE WHEN MY FATHER RECEIVING THREATS, I WAS IN AUSTRALIA.
94 Do you think you will be harmed or mistreated if you return to that country(s)?
Yes
I WILL BE HARMED IF I RETURN TO PAKISTAN, BECAUSE SOME OF MY RELATIVES & FAMILY FRIENDS WERE TARGETED & KILLED BY UNKNOWN FACTORS. MY FATHER RECEIVED THREATS FROM UNKNOWN FACTORS, BECAUSE HE SUPERVISED RELIGIOUS PROCESSIONS & MAJALIS IN SHIA MUSLIM COMMUNITY. HAD TERRIORIST ATTACK ON HIM LAST YEAR.
95 Do you think the authorities of that country(s) can and will protect you if you go back?
No
BECAUSE IT IS ON RECORD THAT MANY SHIA MUSLIMS WERE TARGETED AND KILLED IN PAKISTAN DUE TO NO REASON & AUTHORITIES WERE FAILED TO PROTECT THEM.
96 Do you think you would be able to relocate within that country(s)?
No
BECAUSE MY FATHER TRIED TO RELOCATE DIFFERENT CITIES IN PAKISTAN, BUT THEY ARE STILL. UNABLE TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM LIFE THREATS.
The applicant provided the following documents to the Department in support of his protection visa application:[2]
a)   Certified copy of a death certificate issued on [date] March 2016 by the [Country 1] Ministry of Health for [name], the applicant’s father;
b)   Certified copy of a support letter from [Mr B], Shia Imam and Scholar, dated 19 March 2016;
c)   Certified copy of a letter from [Dr C] from the [a] Medical Centre, dated 11 April 2016, outlining the applicant’s medical issues, including ‘Severe grief’ and [a skin condition], and the second named applicant’s issues with migraines;
d)   Certified copy of a medical report from [Mr D] of the [a] Clinic, dated 11 March 2016, detailing the treatment of the applicant’s [skin] condition;
e)   Certified copy of a letter from [the] tax agent for the applicant, dated 19 March 2016;
f)    Certified copy of a support letter from [name], Director of [a company], dated 11 March 2016;
g)   Certified copy of a support letter from [a] Manager at [Company 1], dated 6 July 2012.
[2] Department file [deleted], Doc ID 10018823, folios 112–105.
The applicant further provided the following documents to the Department in support of his protection visa application:[3]
[3] Department file [deleted], Doc ID 10018824, folios 64–193.
a)The following statutory declaration made by the applicant on 19 October 2017 in support of his protection visa application:
1. I was born on [date] in Karadar, Karachi, Sindh Province, Pakistan. I am a Shia Muslim of Muhajir ethnicity. Muhajir is the name given to people in Karachi who descend from migrants who came to Karachi hundreds of years ago. My ancestors came from Iraq and Iran so we are different to those other Muhajir people in Karachi whose families came from India.
2. Both of my parents are Muhajir Shia Muslims who were born in Karachi. My father was very active in the Shia community in Karachi. He managed a highly respected Shia organisation called [name] that was founded in 1957. It is responsible for organising and managing religious events throughout the year as well as Shia education (teaching the Shia doctrine). Some of the other things it does it manage the traffic and security checking during the Muharram marches, collecting donations and the distribution of food to the Shia community. He first became involved in that organisation when he was a teenager, when we was a teenager. He and my wife’s uncle were group/team leaders in that organisation and he was very active in it until he moved to the [Country 1] .
3. My father was also a volunteer worker for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). When PPP was in power in Pakistan two of the PPP senior leaders [arranged] for him to get a job [in] Karachi. That was in around 1993 or 1994 when the PPP formed its second government. He continued being active for PPP up until he left for [COUNTRY 1]. I have enclosed a scanned copy of his PPP membership card. My wife’s father was also an active member of PPP and I have enclosed a copy of her father’s PPP membership card.
4. My father’s father, my paternal grandfather, was a very religious man and held the position of [position] in the Shia community. This was a very respected position in the Shia community.
5. My mother is also very religious and committed to the Shia community. In Pakistan she would often go to Majalis and helped with the food distribution. As a woman her duties were more restricted. I am the eldest of four children. My sister was the next born after me and then my two brothers. My siblings are also very active in the Shia community.
6. I would always follow my father around when he was undertaking his above‑mentioned activities from when I was young, maybe from the age [age] or [age]. I helped with the same religious activities that he was heavily involved in. I very much looked up to my father and was inspired to be involved in the same Shia activities and be as committed as him to helping the community. I would also help guide the people for Majalis and holding Alam, distributing Niyaz and help the elders with their important tasks. As I got older I got more responsibility in these roles.
7. At the time I left Pakistan for Australia I was still rather young, around [age], and I had been busy studying and working immediately prior to then. Although I was still involved in the Shia community and my father’s Shia activities as I have described, was not until later when I was in Australia when I matured and became more involved in a senior level and on a day-to-day basis with the Shia community. It is in my blood to be involved in my Shia community and in Shia religious activities, and as I got older I got more passionate and committed. This is a natural progression I think. Just like my daughter who is appreciating more and participating more in the Shia community as she is getting older.
8. In 2009 I married my wife. In 2011 she moved to Australia to be with me. Before that she was living in [Country 2] with her family.
9. When I left Pakistan in 2006 things were much better for Shias in Pakistan than it is now. Things got a lot worse in recent years and now persons like myself and my family cannot practise our religion or carry on our lives in the open how we could back then without the risk of being harmed. This is why all of my and also my wife’s family members left Pakistan to live elsewhere.
10. Many of both of our family members and friends who were involved in the Shia community in Karachi were targeted and killed.
a. In 2011 my wife’s maternal uncle’s brother was kidnapped and killed. His name was [name] This happened in Karachi. Enclosed are some media articles, Shia organisation documents (showing that he has been martyred) and photographs about this event and individual. He was active in the Majalis but he was not a senior Shia community leader or anything like that. Around one month after this, another relative of my wife, the husband of her mother and father’s cousin [and] his brother were attacked. They were the caretakers of a Shia graveyard and were both very active in the Shia community. Enclosed some media articles about his targeting and Shia organisation documents (showing that he has been martyred).
b. In 2013 a friend who was our landlord and neighbour in Karachi was targeted and killed for reason of his religious activity. His name [Mr E] and was very active in the Shia community. In Muharram processions they distribute water and other drinks replicating what had happened in Kabala and he and his whole family would do this.
Enclosed some media articles about his targeting and Shia organisation documents (showing that he has been martyred).
c. Also in 2013 my cousin’s husband (also my sister-in-law’s brother) [was] kidnapped and killed. His body was found in pieces the next day. He was still [young]. His father was very active in the Shia community. Enclosed some media articles about his targeting and Shia organisation documents (showing that he has been martyred).
d. In late 2013 a friend of mine [was] targeted and killed in Karachi. He was very active in my Shia community. He was murdered when he was walking home from a Majalis. Enclosed some media articles about his targeting and Shia organisation documents (showing that he has been martyred).
e. In 2014 a son of a very good friend of my wife’s mother who we are also related to [was] targeted and killed. He was also active in the Shia community. Earlier in 2011 his brother had been targeted and killed and he had also been involved with the Shia community as well as being a [occupation]. Enclosed some media articles about his targeting and Shia organisation documents (showing that he has been martyred).
f. Later in 2014 a relative of both my and my wife named [name] [was] also targeted and, killed in Karachi. He was murdered because he and his brother looked after a very special religious horse that featured in the Shia religion.
g. From around 2014 or 2015 my father started receiving threats from unknown people. He was told to cease his religious activities. In April 2015 he was injured in an attack out a [location]. After this he closed his business and not long after moved to [Country 1] with my mother and one of my brothers.
h. In 2016 during Muharram a father of one of my friends in Karachi was killed. He had earlier come to Australia to visit that friend of mine. He was a trustee of the Shia school and also a caretaker of a mosque. After the Majalis we distribute the food to the houses and the people who killed him knocked on his door and they shot him. One of his sons was injured but survived and after that he came to Australia.
Enclosed are some media articles about his targeting and Shia organisation documents (showing that he has been martyred).
i. Earlier this year a Shia dual Australian-Pakistan national who had been living in Australia returned to Karachi to attend his brother’s wedding. The day he was due to return to Australia he was targeted and killed. His name was [Mr F] and we knew of him through our Shia community here in Melbourne. Enclosed are some media articles about his targeting and Shia organisation documents (showing that he has been martyred).
11. All of these family members were targeted and killed because of their profile and activity in the Shia community. The police did not catch any of those that killed these people. This is likely because the agents responsible for those crimes are connected to the government, including the intelligence agency.
12. Due to the increased safety concerns, in around 2012 my immediate family members, including my parents and siblings, started trying to migrate to the [COUNTRY 1]. My father had to his business because it was too dangerous to continue to do it. It took some time for them all to get visas and move to [Country 1]. My sister’s husband moved first, then one of my brothers moved. Then my sister went and after that my parents and one more brother. It was very difficult to get visas for them all, including because they are very strict for Shia Muslims there. My wife’s family moved to [Country 2] a very long time, in the 1970’s. But they never obtained [Country 2] nationality.
13.1 travelled to Pakistan for a few weeks in December 2008/January 2009 to participate in Muharram. I returned again in February/March 2011. On that second trip people were worried that it was getting dangerous for Shias. I have not been back since then as it is too dangerous for me and my wife and child. In December 2012 I was advised by a migration agent that I had to return to Pakistan to apply for a further visa for Australia. However, due to the targeted killings that was ongoing at that time I was too fearful to do so and my father also advised me not to return for that reason. Instead my wife and I travelled to [Country 4] where we felt safe and applied for the visa from there.
14. Since I arrived in Australia I have been very active with the Shia community. I attend the [Suburb 1] Mosque and I am member of [Organisation 1] (). This is a Shia Organisation affiliated with the mosque. We organise the weekly prayers, Majalis and important religious events such as Muharram. I am the program coordinator of Majalis and I organise the schedule for Muharram and communicate it to everyone so that they know where and when to attend (at whose homes). I attend all Majalis, Muharram processions and Thursday prayers. During the processions I am a marshal who guides the attendees. Enclosed are photographs of some of the Muharram events I organised recently here in Melbourne.
15. On [date] January this year my family and I, as representatives of [ORGANISATION 1], had a formal event with [a church]. The purpose of this event was for [ORGANISATION 1] to further develop our strong relations with the Christian community. The pastor of that [Church] whose name is [name], has also attended [ORGANISATION 1] events with us and he even our attended Muharram procession. My wife and I believe that to be good Muslims we have to build strong relationships with the Christian community, and all other religions, and that it is essential that we participate and be a part of their society as well as ours. Enclosed are some photographs of these events.
16. Here in Australia I have been involved in a number of community organisations here. In January this year I was elected as [Position 1] for the [Organisation 2] . One of the advisory members pressured me to join that organisation because I was very active in the Shia community and he identified that I would be very good for that role. In April I resigned from this position with [ORGANISATION 2] because of some personal disagreements with some in that organisation. Subsequently, in May‑June I formed the [Organisation 3] in Australia ([ORGANISATION 3]) with a friend of mine. My wife is also the [Position 2] of this organisation. [ORGANISATION 3] currently consists of [number] people. [A number of them] have formal positions and the [others are] volunteers. Enclosed is a copy of our ASIC registration and certificate of incorporation. We formed this organisation to organise and bring together Pakistan nationals in Australia and to help them with their welfare in Australia. It is for those people who cannot find employment or housing, and other important assistance like that. We also have a charitable objectives for other endeavours. For example, at the moment we are organising members to visit an orphanage in Australia at Christmas times to present food and gifts. For Eid this year I attended [a location] as a representative of [ORGANISATION 3]. We provided food and prayer matts to all [Muslims], both Shia and Muslim. Enclosed are photographs of that event and our visit approval and [invitation]. I have received invitations from the Pakistan High Commission to attend events on behalf of [ORGANISATION 3]. We have plans to expand our charitable operations in Australia. At the moment our focus is assisting people in Australia and Pakistan‑Australia relations and bridging differences between religions. We held a large event on [date] August this year and invited prominent members in the community here such as [names deleted]. Enclosed are a number of photographs from this event and also the formal written I received from the [politician]. The next day, a Pakistan student organisation [invited] my wife and I to attend an event with them on behalf of [ORGANISATION 3].
17. On [date] August this year I represented [ORGANISATION 3] at [an event] 2017. I have enclosed my invitation and ticket for that event.
18. The PPP and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) always have a problem in Karachi because they are the dominant political parties there. My father had some problems in this regard some years ago because of his PPP activity.
19. My wife and I are strong supporters of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who formed PPP and his daughter Benazir Bhutto. These days the party is divided into so many groups but I am a following of Benazir’s son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari who is the current Chairman of the party. I support Bilawal because of my family’s long history of us supporting his family, generation by generation. Bilawal is young and he has not been tested politically yet, but we have strong faith in him because of his family. In Australia there are not any PPP affiliated organisations (unlike the UK) hut if there were good events like that here in Australia I would want to be involved. I have a keen interest to be involved in political matters in Pakistan, including because of my family’s background and my father’s activity and inspiration.
20. These days Karachi is a very dangerous place to live if you are involved in a religious or political affairs. Every week there are media reports of persons being targeted and killed for these reasons, and then there are many others killed but where the media does not report it. I am very sure that if I returned to Karachi I and my wife and daughter would he at a great risk of being targeted and killed on the same basis. As I have made very clear already I am very committed to my responsibilities as a leader in my Shia community. For that reason, my strong personal commitment would mean that I would continue to undertake the same community activities as I am undertaking here.
21. As I have stated above, my wife and I are very strongly committed to strengthening the bond between the Muslim and Christian and other communities. We feel very passionately that this is an essential part of being a good Muslim. In Pakistan such activity is not possible as any perceived cooperation with other religious groups is very bad as any religion other than Islam is very bad. I recall that previously in Karachi during the second Eid of the year many of the local Muslims took camels to the Hindu temples and slaughtered them there just to intimidate the Hindu locals.
22. If for some reason I had to move to another large urban city in Pakistan such as Lahore, Islamabad-Rawalpindi I would continue to be highly active as I am here in Australia.
23. In Punjab Province the Pakistan army and intelligence agencies target you if you are active in the Shia community and if you speak out against them for doing so it makes it even worse for you. Recently there was a man named Samir Abbas who was active in the Shia community in Karachi and he went missing this year in Islamabad. He was outspoken against the Pakistan intelligence agencies. Also, there was another man named Fazal Abbas who returned from Denmark to Pakistan and some people targeted and killed him in Punjab Province for disrespecting the Prophet. Just last Friday another person was killed there in similar circumstances. Allama Nasir Abbas was a Shia leader assassinated in Lahore in 2013.
24. Very recently there were two or three suicide bombings in Lahore and the security situation there is very bad. Last year during Easter there was an attack in Lahore that targeted families in a park. In Rawalpindi the extremist groups are very active and there have been threats and attacks on Shias, including during Muharram. Because of Rawalpindi’s proximity to Islamabad these extremist groups are also present there too. Wherever we live in Pakistan, as a highly active leader in the Shia community, and as someone who is active in other community groups like I am here in Australia, my life would be in danger and I would be at a constant risk of being targeted.
25. We are of Muhajir ethnicity from Karachi and the other people in Pakistan don’t support always accept us. Pakistan is a place where people support their own people. Punjabis support Punjabis. We are not seen by the others in Pakistan as belonging because our ancestors are migrants.
26. The security situation in the urban cities in Pakistan is very unstable and very quickly there can be attacks, public protests that turn violent and other such dangers. We would forever anxious about our safety and never at peace.
27. It would not be possible for us to be confined to live in another city for the rest of our lives. We would need to be able to move around and it is not humanly possible to stay living in one area for ever. I might have to travel for my religious work, or for a job that I needed to do to provide for my family.
28.1 have a skin condition [that] I have been getting specialised medical treatment for here in Australia. I can provide a letter from my doctor about this. These conditions are linked to my stress levels so they would likely get much worse if I returned to Pakistan. I am not sure what treatment would be available for something like this, and this makes me worried, particularly as it would get much worse there with all the additional stress, and not knowing if and what treatment I could get for it.
29. Although I am strongly committed to my religious and community activities if we return to Pakistan, although I would continue to do them I might naturally have to take some steps to modify my movements to reduce the risk of harm. This is a normal thing that everyone has to do there.
30. It is for these reasons that I, my wife and my child have sought asylum in Australia.
b)The following statutory declaration made by the secondary applicant on 19 October 2017:
1. I was born on [date] in Karachi, Sindh Province, Pakistan. I am a Shia Muslim of Muhajir ethnicity. My mother’s grandfather came from India. My father was born in Karachi and my mother also.
2. I have one brother and one sister. One brother lives in [Country 3] and the sister lives in [Country 2]. In around 1988 or 1989 I moved to live in [Country 2]. My father had a temporary work visa that he had to renew every two years. My father moved to [Country 2] to work there a long time before this, perhaps in the 1970’s. My visa was as a dependent family member of my father. For three years from 2003 I lived in Karachi during the university term while I attended high school there. In 2007 I moved back to [Country 2]. My father is still working and living in [Country 2].
3. When living in Pakistan my father and uncle were very active members for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). He assisted with election campaigns and public events for the party. My uncle was a very close friend of [my husband]’s father and they undertook PPP activities together. At the time my father moved to live in [Country 2] it was very dangerous for PPP members and the founding member, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, was jailed. The government was arresting all of the PPP members from their homes and workplaces and gave them lashes. Two of my uncles were taken in this way and this is why my father had to leave to go to [Country 2]. In [Country 2] there is no political things to be involved in so there we were not involved in any of that like my father had previously been in Pakistan and [my husband]’s father.
4. In [Country 2] it is very dangerous to be openly Shia because the government was very against us. It still is this way. For example, just last year in January the [Authorities] sentenced an active leader and Shia [cleric]. We Shia’s are not allowed to practice our religion there and for our Majalis we had to undertake them in secret and ensure the neighbours would not see us (which was difficult due to it being an event where many people attend the house).
5. Despite the dangers, in [Country 2] my family would organise Majalis and other Shia religious events. I helped with these, including by assisting with the food and contacting people who would be attending. But most of the years we would ensure we were in Pakistan for Muharram so we would do it there.
6. My maternal aunt is one of the Shia reciters in the Majalis and this is a very important part of it and I would accompany and attend with her. She was also the caretaker of our community’s Imam Bargha, which is a very important status. My uncle [was] a trustee of an Imam Bargha, and there was an attack on that Imam Bargha. [There] are a lot of reports in media about this. This happened in around 2012 in Karachi. I will provide evidence of this but I recall there not being any major media coverage of it despite it being such a terrible attack. This is another example of the media underreporting such events like this. Also, a friend of this uncle of mine was also attacked earlier that year in January and was killed in similar circumstances. He was the managing trustee of the same [Imam] Bargha. I will provide evidence of these events.
7. In Australia I am very active in the Shia community here and I coordinate a lot of our events. As the wife of an active Shia community representative and also independently as a highly involved female representative in the Shia community here I have a lot of responsibilities here. A number of times each week I have events 1 am responsible for. I can provide you with my schedule with contacts that show how important I am here in our community. Currently it is Muharram and it is even busier that other times of the year. Some would think you would get very tired or exhausted from this intensive activity and involvement with the community but it is not like that because you have a lot of happiness and energy because it is a very important time. It is a very emotional time for us as well because it refreshes your mourning of what happened 1400 years ago in Karbala.
8. Here in Australia I hold the position of [Position 2] for a not-for-profit incorporated association called the [Organisation 3] in Australia ([ORGANISATION 3]). As [my husband] has explained in his statement, he is the [Position 1] for that organisation. This organisation exists to organise and bring together Pakistan nationals in Australia and to help them with their welfare in Australia. I have attended a number of public events in my capacity as [Position 2] and my husband has talked about them in his statement.
9. Importantly, the level of my activity in my Shia community and with the [Organisation 3] here would just not be possible due to the increased dangers in recent years. The extremists are these days targeting women’s Majalis and this would mean it would be very dangerous for me to do the same things I am doing here. Despite these dangers I cannot stop my responsibilities as it is what I am and what we live for. I am very committed to serving my community in the same way I have been irrespective of where I am living.
10. I agree with my husband’s reasons as to why it is not safe or possible to move to another area in Pakistan. Also, the only family I have left in Pakistan is some extended family in Karachi. These family members are only there because they didn’t have the means to get to another country like we have. Many of these family members have been victims of attacks in Pakistan and my husband has provided details of these in his statement.
11. I have been affected by migraines since last year and stress makes these come on. For example, when I got the interview date for our visa it came on like that. For these reasons my migraines would get much more frequent and worse if I were in Pakistan as the stress would be much much worse due to our fears for our safety and restrictions on our lives. I see a doctor and take prescription medication for this. I also have a problem with my [body parts]. I also see a doctor about this and I take medication for it.
12. I would also like to say that, in addition to the risks I would face on my own, I also fear that I might be harmed in Pakistan due to me being the wife of [my husband], who is very active himself in Shia and community activities. This risk would be because of me being his wife and also because I would naturally be close to him at most times so I might be harmed if they targeted him. On this basis I also have fears for our daughter who would also be personally at risk for these same reasons (because she is the daughter of [my husand]/me and due to her being physically close to us at all times).
13. Finally, I also have fears for myself and our daughter due to the serious dangers women in Karachi, and Pakistan generally, face on a daily basis. I have recently been told that Karachi was voted the most dangerous city in the world to be a woman/girl (and I believe my lawyer will be providing the Department with this report). I believe this to be accurate as there you cannot walk anywhere by yourself without putting yourself at risk of being attacked, abused or robbed as women are seen as easy targets there. This is also the same for everywhere in Pakistan. It is not like here in Australia when you can get a bus home on your own. In Pakistan the men would follow and whistle and abuse you if you are walking on the street alone. This would happen to me when I was at university when I was required to walk on the street more often.
14. It is for these reasons that I, my husband and my child have sought asylum in Australia.
c)Photographs of the applicant attending numerous [processions] in Melbourne between 2011 and 2017;
d)Photographs of the applicant’s activity in Australia, including: [long list of events deleted];
e)Photographs of [a named person] dated 2010, Shia [reciter], January 2017, and a [church] meeting;
f)Copy Certificate of Incorporation issued on 9 June 2017 by Consumer Affairs Victoria for the [Organisation 3] in Australia ([ORGANISATION 3]) and ASIC registration; poster for [ORGANISATION 3] event on 13 August 2017; photograph from [ORGANISATION 3] event; photograph of [ORGANISATION 3] members; article in [a] Magazine;
g)Copy of ticket for [an] event attended by the applicant on [date] August 2017;
h)Copy of an Invitation to the applicant [to] attend a [event], dated 10 August 2017;
i)Photographs of a petition at a protest in Canberra, regarding missing Shia persons in Pakistan;
j)Copy of an invitation from [a politician] in Melbourne, for the applicant to attend a reception on 12 August 2017;
k)Death certificate for [a relative], issued on 2 August 2011, by the Government of Sindh, Pakistan;
l)Article published [online], dated [date] July 2011, titled [deleted], and news post and death notices dated 24 July 2011 sourced from [Website 1], regarding the death of [two] of the applicant’s relatives;
m)Email dated 10 January 2012 regarding the death of [a] friend of the applicant;
n)A news post and death notice, dated 15 January 2012, [claimed] to relate to a friend of the applicant, sourced from [Website 1] on 18 October 2017;
o)Untranslated document claimed to be the death certificate for the landlord and neighbour of the applicant;
p)Death notice for [Mr E], claimed to be a friend the applicant, dated 7 January 2013, sourced from [Website 1];
q)Article published online in Babulilm News on 11 April 2014, titled Shia Muslim martyred in Yazidi terrorist attack in Karachi, sourced on 3 October 2017;
r)Photograph claiming to be of the brother of the second named applicant’s uncle, killed on 22 June 2011;
s)Article published online by Jafria News, dated 22 June 2011, titled Another Shia Man Kidnapped and Martyred in Karachi, sourced on 4 October 2017;
t)Death notice for [name], claimed to be a relative of the second named applicant, dated 22 June 2016, sourced from [Website 1] on 4 October 2017;
u)A collection of four photographs of friends and relatives of the first and second named applicants who have been targeted or killed in attacks in Pakistan;
v)An article published online in The Express Tribune on 27 November 2016, titled Shia leader shot dead in Sahiwal, sourced on 17 October 2017;
w)A news post dated 25 November 2016, titled Sahiwal: Imambargah Caretaker Dr Khalid Mehmood Embraces Shahadat, sourced from [Website 1] on 17 October 2017;
x)Undated article titled [title], regarding the killing of [Mr F], claimed to be a friend of the applicant, sourced on 2 October 2017;
y)An article published online in The Express Tribune on 7 June 2017, titled Six months on, Samar Abbas still missing, sourced on 17 October 2017;
z)Article published online by Shiite News on 11 January 2017, titled KARACHI‑BASED ACTIVIST SAMAR ABBAS GOES MISSING FROM ISLAMABAD, sourced on 17 October 2017;
aa)A news post dated 7 October 2017, titled Karachi: Azadari Continues – Mansoor Sadiq Zaidi Embrace Shahadat, Son Injured, claimed to relate to the person mentioned in the above article, sourced from [Website 1];
bb)Article published [online], sourced on 2 October 2017, claimed to relate to the killing of [the] father of a friend of the applicant;
cc)An article published online in The Express Tribune on 21 April 2017 titled Three women confess to killing alleged blasphemer in Sialkot, sourced on 17 October 2017;
dd)Death certificate for [Mr E], claimed to be the applicant’s landlord and neighbour, issued by the Government of Sindh, Pakistan on 17 January 2013;
ee)Article published online by Pakistan Today on 31 October 2016, titled British tourist among five killed in attack on Shia majlis in Karachi, sourced 2 October 2017;
ff)Two articles, published online by ARY News and Dawn respectively, titled Teenager dead, 13 hurt in attack on Imambargah in Karachi and Teenager killed in blast outside Imambargah in Karachi, 15 others injured, sourced on 2 October 2017;
gg)Article published online by SBS News Australia, titled The best and worst cities for women to live, sourced on 23 October 2023;
hh)A news post dated 6 November 2011, titled Karachi: Azadari Continues – Kamran Kazmi Embraces Shahadat, Imran Kazmi Sustains Injuries, sourced from [Website 1] in November 2016;
ii)Article published online by Dawn, dated November 2016, titled One killed, two injured in Karachi’s suspected sectarian attack;
jj)Blog post dated 1 September 2017, titled SACRIFICE CAMELS TIED UP IN HINDU TEMPLE – KARACHI, sourced from on 23 October 2017;
kk)A news post dated 25 January 2017, titled Karachi: Qari Kazim Raza Baltistani Embraces Shahadat sourced from [Website 1];
ll)Article published online by Dawn, dated 12 August 2017, titled Two policemen shot dead in D.I. Khan;
mm)Article published online by Shiite News on 6 February 2017, titled ASWJ TERRORISTS SHOT DEAD A SHIA DOCTOR IN SAHIWAL;
nn)A news post dated 2 June 2016, titled Karachi: Firing on Imambargah – Mohammad Abbas Embraces Shahadat, Several Injured, sourced from [Website 1] on 17 October 2017;
oo)Article published online by Shiite News on 10 December 2016, titled SHIA OFFICER OF WAPDA MARTYRED IN ASWJ TERRORIST ATTACK IN ABBOTTABAD, sourced on 17 October 2017;
pp)Article published online by The Wire, dated 11 June 2016, titled The Rising Threat Against Shia Muslims in Pakistan, sourced on 23 October 2017;
qq)Article published online by Dawn, undated, titled At least 13 injured as police foil suicide blasts targeting Eid prayers in Shikarpur, sourced on 2 October 2017;
rr)A news post dated 16 February 2017, titled Sehwan; 50 Devotees Martyred as Blast Rips Through Laal Shahbaz Qalandar Shrine, sourced from [Website 1] on 2 October 2017;
ss)Article published online by Geo News, dated 20 February 2017, titled Sehwan blast: Death toll reaches 90 as two more victims succumb to injuries, sourced on 3 October 2017;
tt)A news post dated 4 October 2016, titled Rawalpindi: Azadari Continues With Fervour – Two Momineen Martyred in Gun Attack, sourced from [Website 1] on 17 October 2017;
uu)Article published online by Dawn in January 2015, titled Bomb blast at Rawalpindi imambargah kills 8, injures 16, sourced on 2 October 2017;
vv)Article published online by Shiite News on 13 August 2017, titled UNCLE OF MARTYRED SHIA LAWYER SHOT DEAD IN DERA ISMAIL KHAN, sourced on 12 October 2017;
ww)A news post published online by Dawn on 14 August 2017 titled Man Shot Dead, sourced on 12 October 2017;
xx)Article dated 28 March 2016, titled Countless dead as suicide-bomber hits a public park in Pakistan, sourced from article published online in The Express Tribune on 18 October 2017, titled Bomb rips through fruit truck in Lahore; 45 injured, sourced on 18 October 2017;
zz)Article published online by The Diplomat on 25 June 2017, titled Lahore Hit With Fourth Terrorist Attack in 6 Months, sourced on 18 October 2017;
aaa)Article published online by Shiite News on 15 October 2017, titled HATEMONGERING TAKFIRIS ATTACK A MOURNING CONGREGATION IN FAISALABAD, sourced on 17 October 2017;
bbb)A news post dated 2 November 2016, titled Rawalpindi: Azadari Continues – Raza Jafri Embraces Shahadat, sourced from [Website 1] on 17 October 2017;
ccc)An article published online by the LA Times on 24 June 2017, titled Attacks in three Pakistani cities leave at least 85 people dead, many injured, sourced on 12 October 2017;
ddd)An article published online by Reuters on 14 February 2017, titled Blast kills at least 13 in Pakistani city of Lahore, 83 injured, sourced on 23 October 2017;
eee)Article published online by Shiite News on 22 October 2017, titled ANOTHER SHIA MUSLIM TAKEN INTO UNDECLARED, ILLEGAL CUSTODY IN RAWALPINDI, sourced on 23 October 2017;
fff)Article published online by Shiite News on 3 February 2017, titled SHIA LEGAL AID COMMITTEE MEMBER KIDNAPPED IN KARACHI, sourced on 23 October 2017;
ggg)Article published online by Shiite News on 16 October 2016, titled FAMILIES OF MISSING SHIAS STAGE DEMONSTRATION FOR THEIR RELEASE, sourced on 23 October 2017;
hhh)Article published online by Shiite News on 23 March 2017, titled MASJID-E-ZARRAR OF PAKISTAN AKA LAL MASJID INVITES PROSCRIBED ASWJ RINGLEADER, sourced on 24 October 2017;
iii)An article published online by Dawn on 24 August 2017, titled Army won’t act against Haqqani network, says Samiul Haq, sourced on 24 October 2017;
jjj)An article published online by the Telegraph, dated 8 February 2015, titled The radical cleric building a militia in the heart of Islamabad, sourced on 20 October 2017;
kkk)An article published online by Reuters on 17 February 2016, titled Polio worker shot as Pakistan holds countrywide vaccination drive, sourced on 20 October 2017;
lll)An article dated 13 June 2012, titled Pakistan: Muslim cleric says polio vaccine is against Islam, threatens jihad against vaccination teams, sourced on 20 October 2017 from of an article published by AhlulBayt News Agency on 26 January 2017, titled ‘Saudi official meets banned terrorist group’s leaders in Islamabad’;
nnn)An article published online in The Express Tribune on 3 December 2013, titled Targeted for beliefs?: Two lives cut short by ‘na maloom afraad’, sourced on 18 October 2017;
ooo)A news post dated 2 December 2013, titled Karachi: Mudabir Raza and Haider Raza Embrace Shahadat, sourced from [Website 1] on 18 October 2017;
ppp)An articled sourced from the BBC news website, dated 5 April 2017, titled Pakistan blast; Lahore census team hit by suspected suicide bombing;
qqq)An article sourced on 12 April 2016 from worldshiaforum.wordpress.com titled #ShiaGenocide: In first 48 days of 2013, 269 Shia Muslims killed, 459 injured in Pakistan;
rrr)A letter from [Mr D], Senior Practitioner of [a] Clinic, signed and dated 24 October 2017, detailing the treatment of the applicant’s [skin] condition;
sss)A photograph claimed to depict the applicant with the Shia [Scholar];
ttt)A support letter from [Mr B], Shia Imam and Scholar, signed and undated, detailing the applicant’s participation in a protest in Melbourne regarding missing Shias in Pakistan;
uuu)A photograph of the second named applicant’s [medication];
vvv)A letter from [Dr C] from the [a] Medical Centre, dated 8 November 2017, detailing the second named applicant’s migraine and anxiety conditions and the medications she has been [prescribed];
www)A document containing the content of the two abovementioned [social media] posts, with translations of the content in the comments;
xxx)Screenshots of two [social media] posts on [a] Media’s public [social media] page, undated and untranslated, with photos claimed to depict the applicant at a public protest in Melbourne seeking to raise public awareness of human rights abuses suffered by Shia in Pakistan;
yyy)A screenshot a [social media] [post], undated, announcing the election of the first named applicant as the [Position 1] of the [Organisation 2];
zzz)A copy of the applicant’s father’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) ‘worker card’, issued on 22 July 1975, including a NAATI accredited translation of the document;
aaaa)A copy of the applicant’s father’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) membership card, issued on 11 November 1989, including a NAATI accredited translation of the document;
bbbb)A copy of an article, dated[date] November 2017, published [and[ sourced from the website [deleted], reporting the death of two Shias outside a Shia Mosque in Islamabad, including one named [name];
cccc)Screenshot of a [post], dated [date] November 2017 [time], detailing the killing of two Shias in Islamabad, Pakistan, one of whom is claimed by the applicant to be the second named applicant’s uncle, [name];
dddd)Photographs of the second named applicant’s uncle, [name].

On 12 April 2023 the applicant submitted to the Tribunal the following documents in support of their review: [4]
[4] Tribunal file 1802567, Doc IDs 10945885, 10945892, 10945893.
a)A statutory declaration made by the applicant, signed and dated 11 April 2023, with the following claims in support of his review application:
3. I fear harm in Pakistan on account of my Shia religious beliefs and political opinions in support of lmran Khan and his political party Pakistan Tehreek-elnsaaf (PTI) and against Pakistan's army. I also fear that my daughter [Miss G] will be harmed because of her Shia religious beliefs and because she is a young girl who has grown up in Australia.
My current circumstances
4. I continue to live in [a suburb] with my wife [and] my daughter, [Miss G].
5. My mother and siblings still live outside of Pakistan and have not returned there.
6. In 2019 and 2022 I engaged with counselling and mental health services for anxiety and depression. I was not able to continue counselling because I could not afford it.
7. I have ongoing stress-related conditions including [deleted].
My daughter [Miss G]
8. [Miss G] is [age] years old.
9. She has grown up in Australia as a Shia Muslim. I have taken her with me to the mosque and to religious processions. She watches and learns things from me and like me she also wants to be a front-liner in the Shia community. She regularly and actively participates in religious gatherings and likes to perform on stage. Her ambition is to be a good Quran reciter. She wants us to arrange a gathering for kids at our home during Muharram where she will be able to recite. Previously she has performed recitations for the [name], who was killed when she was [age] years old.
My time in Australia
My religious activities in Australia
10. I am a very active and well-known member of the Shia community in Melbourne.
11. I run [Page 1], a [social media] page and group which I created in 2016. I use this platform to create and publish schedules for Shia religious gatherings taking place in Melbourne throughout the year, including the schedules for Majalis and prayers taking place at mosques. I promote religious events by circulating brochures. I also organize Shia religious gatherings at peoples' homes. Shia Muslims in Melbourne know to contact me when they want to hold a gathering and I schedule these by co‑ordinating with Imams and scholars, who are my close contacts. I provide a service in which I attend these gatherings, record and broadcast them on the [social media] page for those who want to share their event with people who could not attend. There are many Shia religious gatherings published on the page.
12. [Page 1] has become the central reference point for Melbourne's Shia community to find out when religious gatherings are going to happen. It is a place to bring the whole Shia community in Melbourne together. The [social media] page has over [number] followers. The majority of my followers are in Australia, but around 30 per cent are from Pakistan. Through my work on [Page 1] I am a prominent and well‑known member of the Shia community, and people here know me and my family.
13. I created [Page 1] to spread Shia Islam in Melbourne. I am totally against Sunni extremists like Da'esh and the Taliban who have completely the wrong concept of Islam. Through my platform I want to convey the message of the Holy Family of Prophet Mohammad that we are peaceful Muslims and to share with others what happened in the past with the Holy Family. My role is to facilitate others to transfer the Shia beliefs through the generations. I am very passionate about and committed to this.
14. The gatherings that I broadcast on social media include many things that Sunnis consider blasphemous. We openly share our thoughts about the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, as well as other members of the Holy Family, and their killers. Some of the killers were companions of Mohammad (Sahaba). To Sunnis it is disrespectful and blasphemous for us to say these Sahaba tortured and killed members of the Holy Family. They say that Shias are not Muslim because these are our beliefs. They do not want us to say these things openly and celebrate the martyrs.
15. I have been free to express these beliefs in Australia but in 2021 my [page] was suspended for 14 days for violating community standards. This means that someone reported my videos but I am not sure who it was.
16. In addition to running the [social media] page, I go to the mosque twice a week, on Thursday and Friday. I usually attend the [Organisation 1] mosque.
17. I became even more connected with the Shia community in Melbourne during the COVID-19 pandemic. When people were not able to attend mosque due to lockdown, I worked together with [a] Committee [to] collect the names and addresses of Shia Muslims in the community and used this information to distribute Niyaz to them at their doorsteps.
18. I have taken part in demonstrations in Melbourne and Canberra for Shia martyrs, missing persons and rights.
19. In October 2017 I participated in a demonstration at Parliament House in Melbourne to raise my voice against the disappearance of Shia Muslims. The purpose of the demonstration was to send a message to the Pakistan government that the Western world is against these disappearances.
20. In 20191 attended a demonstration [to] rebuild Shia holy shrines that were destroyed by Sunni extremists in their country.
21. I participate in all processions organized by the Ashura Committee in Melbourne. During Ashura thousands of Shia Muslims march to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain and carry posters showing his words. I circulate the schedule for the processions and broadcast them live on my [social media] page.
My political activities in Australia
22. I previously supported Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP). In 2018 I stopped following him because whilst I supported his policies he did not follow through on his promises to provide people with the basic necessities, create jobs and homes, and to fund healthcare and education.
23. lmran Khan had similar policies to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and I began to follow him after his 2018 election. I changed my [social media] profile picture to lmran Khan and made posts about him to show my support.
24. I have also shown my support for lmran Khan and the PTI, by endorsing two PTI candidates running in local bodies elections in Pakistan.
25. The first of these was in December 2021. I gave my support to [Mr H] who was running for the [PTI]. He asked for my support because I know a lot of Shia families in Melbourne with connections to people in that region, and I could encourage them to connect and advocate for them to vote for him. My face was put on the campaign posters and put up around the area. He was successfully elected.
26. The second PTI candidate I supported was running in [an] elections in January 2023. The PTI candidate for my old home area, [Mr I], had known my father and his political and religious influence there. He reached out to me through an old school friend of mine to endorse his campaign hoping it would bring him support from the younger generation, both because of my father's memory in the community and because I am a younger person living overseas. My picture was also put on his campaign posters and put up in the area. Unfortunately he lost, as that part of Pakistan remains a stronghold for the PPP and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MOM).
27. On 2 March 2023 the Victorian Chapter of the PTI posted on their social media in an effort to drive up membership. Soon after this I received a [message] from [a named person] of the Victorian PTI Chapter whom I had met at an event in March 2022, also encouraging new members in anticipation of Pakistan's upcoming elections. In response to the membership drive I became a member of the PTI in March 2023. I joined the PTI because as a member I will be able to raise the voice of the PTI in the Western world.
28. On 26 March 2023 I participated in a protest against the arrest of lmran Khan at Federation Square. While there I took pictures of the protest that were published on social media. I went to the protest because there are human rights violations going on in Pakistan without accountability against lmran Khan, PTI supporters and politicians. The police arrest and beat PTI supporters and police are taking PTI politicians from their homes. If lmran Khan is arrested, there is a high chance that he will be killed.
My community work and advocacy in Australia
29. I am heavily involved with community activities in Melbourne, some of which I describe below.
30. I am [Position 1] of the [Organisation 3] in Australia ([ORGANISATION 3]) which continues to serve the needs of Australia's Pakistani community. I have worked hard to build my profile and the profile of the [ORGANISATION 3] in the community so that I can speak to Members of Parliament on their behalf.
31. As a recognized community leader I have attended events at [venues], Melbourne.
32. During the 2019-2020 Victorian bushfires, the [ORGANISATION 3] raised funds and collected donations of food and other goods for those affected.
33. During the pandemic, I organized a food drive through the [ORGANISATION 3] to deliver groceries and meals to members of the Pakistani community.
34. As part of the [ORGANISATION 3], I also [did a specified work] during the pandemic. We organized a campaign for the Victorian Government to translate COVID information into Urdu.
35. Also during the pandemic, the [ORGANISATION 3] ran a digital platform through its [social media] page, posting, among other things, religious and political content. One of the things that we did through the platform was a recurring [program]. In this program we would give kids activities to do during lockdown and also teach them things about Pakistani culture. Under the posting we made for [the program] during Muharram, a lot of negative comments were made, like, 'Is this a religious propaganda page now?', and 'This is not Islam!'. After this we stopped posting content like this on the page.
36. Recently I advocated on behalf of a family[for a MP], to write to the Minister for Immigration to resolve their immigration status.
My fears of return Pakistan
37. I can't return to Pakistan. In Pakistan Sunni extremists including Da'esh and the Taliban think that we are not Muslims, that Shia are 'kafir'. This is being written in the streets there. They think that if you kill Shia Muslims you go to heaven.
38. Most people in government are Sunni and they don't want us to practice our religion; to talk about the Holy Prophet Mohammad's family, spread their words and celebrate the martyrs.
39. I fear that if I was returned to Pakistan I would be kidnapped and disappeared by agencies, and harmed or killed by Sunni extremists.
40. I will be targeted in Pakistan because I would do the same things there that I do in Australia. I would not be playing a general role in the Shia community there. Like here in Australia, I would be a leader facilitating others to transfer Shia beliefs through the generations. I would publicly encourage others to participate in Shia gatherings and actively participate myself. I would attend large religious gatherings and marches during Muharram and like my father, guide people in the processions and monitor for suspicious activity. I would facilitate attendance at mosques and continue my activities to teach the next generation of Shia Muslims. Here I am helping to spread Shia beliefs and I am fundamentally committed to doing this wherever I go.
41. If I do the same thing in Pakistan as I have been doing in Australia and provide resources to people to have religious gatherings at mosques and peoples' homes I will be highlighted as someone who is encouraging the spread of Shia Islam. This will make me a target of Sunni extremists and terrorists in Pakistan who want Shias to stop gathering and rallying because when we gather we always express our beliefs in the Holy Prophet Muhammad and the martyrdom of his family.
42. I also fear that I could be arrested for blasphemy in Pakistan because of my religious activities. A bill was recently passed there which means you can be sent to prison for ten years for disrespecting the Sahaba, who are holy people to Sunni Muslims. I have done this in processions and broadcast things that would be considered disrespectful to the Sahaba on my [Page 1] which are still visible.
43. I am aware that a Shia man, Taqi Jaffer, was arrested in September 2020 for reciting the Ziarat-e-Ashura for the Shia martyr Imam Hussain in a Muharram procession in Karachi. The Ziaryat-e-Ashura is a noble thing that I recite and would recite in processions in Pakistan, and that I have also broadcast on social media. If I am accused of blasphemy there is also a risk that I could be tortured or killed by anti-Shia people in the community.
44. I also fear that if I arn retumed to pakistan I will be arrested by the police and beaten for expressing my support of lmran Khan and the PTI. I am aware that the police in Pakistan beat and shelled protesters demonstrating against lmran Khan's arrest in March 2023. I participated in a protest against lmran Khan's arrest in Melbourne and would do the same in Pakistan. I would encourage more people to come out on the streets and support him, and also support PTI candidates to create awareness of what the party is doing there.
45. I am opposed to the army in Pakistan and, before my personal [social media] account was suspended, made posts that were critical about the Chief of Pakistan's army. The army wants to run Pakistan and are trying to arrest lmran Khan because he is against them. This is totally wrong.
46. If there is something wrong you need to stand up and raise your voice. For raising my voice against the army and in support of Imran Khan and the PTI, supporters of opposition political parties including the PPP may threaten me to stop, complain about me to the police, and harm me. lmran Khan has said that the police arrest PTI activists and hand them over to others who harm them, to get them to stop their activities. Despite these risks, as a Shia Muslim I follow the teaching of Imam Hussain that if you keep quiet against those who are wrong you are with them. This means that I have to show my voice against them.
My fears for my wife and daughter
47. I also fear for my wife and daughter's safety if we were returned to Pakistan.
48. I fear that my religious and political activities in Pakistan would make them targets of anti-Shia and anti-PTI people and organisations there, who would harm them as a way to get me to stop.
49. [Miss G] is a girl and there is no safety for a woman in Pakistan. There are cases of children being kidnapped there, like Zainab Ansari who was abducted and killed in Punjab while on her way to Quran recitation classes in 2018. There are so many cases like that that make me afraid that could happen to my daughter, our only child.
50. [Miss G] was born in Australia and she doesn't know what it is like to live in Pakistan. She is an Aussie child with and Australian mindset. She will stand out in Pakistan because she behaves like an Australian. She has an Australian accent. People will recognize that she is not used to living there. This will make her an easier target for kidnappers and people who could harm her.
51. When I was in school in Pakistan I did not openly say that I was Shia Muslim. I was from a mixed Sunni and Shia area. A few of us in the school were Shia Muslims and the rest were Sunni. All the reading in school was according to the Sunni religion.
52. I was not open about being Shia because the Sunni kids could tum against me or become violent if they saw that I was in violation their beliefs. For example, as a child I knew that I could not disclose that, some of the Sahaba were responsible for the martyrdom of members-of the Holy Family, which is insulting and blasphemous to Sunnis. I knew that if I had expressed that, the Sunni students could have become violent towards me. So I always tried not to violate Sunni beliefs and hide my sect to study in peace.
53. [Miss G] has grown up being freely able to express her religion. In Australia she has put herself out fronnn expressing her Shia beliefs. She has no idea about Pakistan and she doesn't know that she can't say certain things publicly there; things that she has said in fedtatiohs here. Because of this, and because she is [age] years old, I fear that she could say the wrong thing and this would be very dangerous for her. She could be attacked by Sunni students or even accused of blasphemy.
54. I don't believe that the state authorities in Pakistan can protect me from harm. The government has expanded blasphemy laws and made Shia Muslims more of a target. The army and the police are the ones who will harm me for expressing my political beliefs. There are fewer bomb blasts at religious processions now than there have been in the past but the risk is still there. If there wasn't a risk the army would not need so many police on the roads when processions are happening.
55. I will not be safe anywhere in Pakistan because I would continue my religious activities wherever I went, whether I go to Islamabad, Lahore or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and there are anti-Shia extremists everywhere.
56. I don't know how we will survive in Pakistan. I have not been able to work in Australia and have no savings, and my family now live in other countries. My father sold everything to move away from Pakistan and there is no house to return to. I don't have any financial security and don't know how I will feed my family, or afford to pay for [Miss G]'s education. It will be very stressful and this will be bad for my mental health. Now Pakistan's economy is getting worse, things are becoming much more expensive and there is a lot of political and religious trouble so people are trying to save themselves or their family. I have lived in Australia for seventeen years and only lived in Karachi before that. I don't have money or family to help me resettle somewhere else in Pakistan.
57. For these reasons, I seek protection in Australia.
b)A statutory declaration made by the secondary applicant, signed and dated 11 April 2023, with the following claims in support of her review application:
3. I continue to be an active member of Melbourne's Shia community.
4. I remain the [Position 2] of the [Organisation 3] in Australia ([ORGANISATION 3]). I design the schedules for the Majalis which [my husband] posts on his [social media] page. I also design the Ramadan calendars for all of the state capitals in Australia which are published on the [ORGANISATION 3] website. [He] and his team of volunteers also distribute hard copies of the Melbourne Ramadan calendar here.
5. The [ORGANISATION 3] has organized public events to celebrate Pakistan Independence Day and Pakistan Republic Day. I help to prepare children from the community to perform patriotic songs at these events. I also help prepare children's performances for community festivals like the Halal Food Festival and Eid Festival, as well prepare marketing material and booking stalls for the [ORGANISATION 3].
6. I attend women's Majalis every Thursday [in] [Suburb 1]. During Muharram I also attend Majalis for women at people's homes.
7. In 2019 I attended the demonstration [that] [my husband] mentioned in his statement.
8. Every year I attend all of the processions organized by the Ashura Committee in Melbourne with [my husband] and [Miss G].
9. Because [my husband] is heavily involved in the Shia community here, [Miss G] and I are well‑known as his wife and daughter.
10. It is very important to me to help [Miss G] learn her religion. She participates in every religious activity she can. I take her to Islamic language school on Saturdays and help her with her homework from there. During Ramadan this year, [Miss G] is also taking part in an online [quiz].
11. I still suffer from frequent migraines and take medication for this, and I take painkillers for my [body parts]. The biggest trigger for my migraines is tension and stress but they are also triggered by heat, or if I have not eaten.
12. I continue to fear harm in Pakistan as a Shia Muslim woman. I also fear that [Miss G] and I will be easily targeted by religious and political opponents as a result of [my husband]'s activities there.
13. It is not safe for women and girls in Pakistan. There are kidnappings and females can be stalked and molested if they are going places alone. [Miss G] will be especially vulnerable because she has grown up in Australia and doesn't know the culture there. [My husband] sometimes attends Majalis just for the men and he is gone from morning until night. He won't be able to be with us all the time and when he is away it will not be safe for me and my daughter [Miss G]. The economic situation in Pakistan is very bad at the moment and [my husband] and I would both need to work to try and support our family. Most people in Pakistan don't like women to work and it would be difficult for me to find a job. If [my husband] and I are both working, [Miss G] will be left alone to travel home from school and I would be very worried for her safety.
14. The political and religious situation in Pakistan is volatile and things can turn violent very quickly. I remember that one day around 2004, when I attended university in Karachi, there was an announcement that the situation in the city was becoming unsafe and that we should go home. I was on the bus travelling home when it was stopped by people who had become violent. We were all told to get off the bus and when he had these people set it on fire. I was able to take rickshaws and travel home that day. If [Miss G] was caught up in something like that she wouldn't know what to do, because she is young and unfamiliar with Pakistan.
15. I don't know how we will be able to afford to live in Pakistan, or how we will be able to afford medication there, or to send [Miss G] to school. Even if she attends a government school, it is not totally free because you need to purchase books and other things. If you have money you can relocate anywhere but we don't have any savings. I also have no family left in Pakistan, except for extended family members in Karachi with whom I am not in contact.
16. For these reasons I, [my husband] and my daughter seek protection in Australia.
c)A letter regarding the applicant’s contributions to the Shia community in Melbourne dated 20 March [2023].
d)Letter regarding the applicant’s contributions to the Shia community in Melbourne dated 20 March 2023 – [an organisation].
e)Photos evidencing the recording and broadcasting of Shia religious gatherings by the applicant through the [Page 1] platform.
f)Photos evidencing the broadcast of Shia religious gatherings and the publication of Shia religious beliefs on the applicant’s [social media] platform, [Page 1].
g)Screenshot of the [Page 1] – Melbourne [social media] page, showing follower count.
h)Screenshot showing a statistical breakdown of the [Page 1] – Melbourne audience.
i)Photos evidencing the applicant attending Shia gatherings with Shia Imams and scholars.
j)Photos evidencing Majalis and prayer schedules published on [Page 1] – Melbourne.
k)Photos evidencing moon sightings published on [Page 1], dated 2018–2023.
l)Letter regarding the applicant’s involvement with [Organisation 1] dated 31 March 2023 – [Organisation 1].
m)Photos evidencing the applicant’s attendance at the [a venue].
n)Photos evidencing involvement in March for Peace procession, commemorating Imam Hussain and lives lost to extremism, Melbourne CBD, dated 2016.
o)Photo evidencing participation in demonstration against disappearance of Shia Muslims, Parliament House, Melbourne CBD, dated October 2017.
p)Photo evidencing publication of the applicant’s photo participating in demonstration against disappearance of Shia Muslims, on [social media] page.
q)Letter regarding the applicant’s promotion of and participation in Ashura processions dated 31 March 2023 – Ashura Committee.
r)Photo of third named applicant performing a Quran recitation.
s)Photo of third named applicant performing at an [event], 2017.
t)Photos of third named applicant attending and performing at an [event], 2019.
u)Photo of third named applicant attending a gathering commemorating Imam Hussain.
v)The third named applicant pictured with the applicant and [a politician] at an [event], 2020.
w)Photo of third named applicant performing at Parliament House, Victoria, [2022].
x)Photos evidencing third named applicant’s Shia Islamic studies.
y)Photos evidencing the applicant changing his personal [social media] profile picture to a picture of Imran Khan, and sharing posts in relation to Imran Khan, 2018–2020.
z)Photos evidencing support for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate [Mr H] in local elections, including the use of the applicant’s photo on campaign posters dated December 2021.
aa)Photos evidencing support for PTI candidate [Mr I] in local elections, including the use of the applicant’s photo on campaign posters dated January 2023.
bb)Photos evidencing PTI Victorian Chapter’s membership drive on social media, including via [messaging] dated March 2023.
cc)Photo evidencing the applicant’s membership with PTI dated 20 March 2023.
dd)Photos evidencing participation in protest against the arrest of Imran Khan, Federation Square, Melbourne CBD, dated 26 March 2023.
ee)Letter regarding the applicant’s involvement with the [ORGANISATION 3], dated 27 March 2023.
ff)Photos evidencing the applicant’s attendance at an Australia Day event, Government House, Melbourne.
gg)Photos evidencing the applicant’s attendance at events organised by the Consulate General of Pakistan, Melbourne.
hh)Flyer for the [ORGANISATION 3] Victorian Bushfire Fundraiser, listing the applicant as a contact.
ii)Photos evidencing the applicant’s efforts in organising a food drive and groceries in response to the 2019–2020 Victorian Bushfires.
jj)Flyer for the [ORGANISATION 3] Ramadan 2020 Food Box Distribution service, listing the applicant as a contact.
kk)Photos evidencing the applicant’s efforts in organising a food drive and delivering groceries and meals to members of the Pakistani community during the pandemic.
ll)Emails evidencing the applicant’s involvement in [a task] dated 14 June 2020 and 23 June 2020.
mm)Photos evidencing the [ORGANISATION 3] program[published] on the [ORGANISATION 3] [social media] page on 23 August 2020, and negative comments received in response to the Shia Muslim related content.
nn)Letter from [an MP], to the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs regarding the applicant’s advocacy on behalf of members of the [ORGANISATION 3] dated 30 March [2023].
oo)Photos evidencing the applicant’s attendance at AMAFHH Federation events, Melbourne.
pp)Flyer for Halal Food Carnival 25 March 2018 organised by the [ORGANISATION 3].
qq)Photo evidencing the applicant’s participation in an [interview] to promote a [event].
rr)Photo evidencing the applicant’s attendance at a Society for Women Empowerment & Recognition Australia (SWERA) event.
ss)Letter regarding the applicant’s involvement with [a] Committee Melbourne dated 6 October [2021]–.
tt)Letter regarding the applicant’s involvement in community work and advocacy dated April 2023 – [a named] MP.
uu)Letter regarding the applicant’s involvement as a volunteer with [a church] dated 21 March [2023].
vv)Letter regarding the applicant’s commitment to community work and advocacy dated 21 March 2023 –[ORGANISATION 3]).
ww)Certificate recognising the applicant’s contributions to the Pakistani community dated 1 March 2021 – [ORGANISATION 3].
xx)Letter regarding the applicant’s contributions to the community and involvement with [a platform] dated 23 March [2023].
yy)Letter regarding the applicant’s involvement with [organisations] dated 27 March [2023].
zz)Bundle of photos evidencing recognition of the [ORGANISATION 3] by Australian political figures.
aaa)Letter regarding the applicant’s engagement with counselling [dated] 29 October [2019].
bbb)Letter regarding the applicant’s engagement with the mental health service [dated] 31 March 2022 –[Mental] Health Clinician, Head to Health.
ccc)Letter regarding the applicant’s engagement with counselling [dated] 14 June 2022 –[Mental] Health Clinician, Head to Health.

On 17 April 2023 the applicant provided the Tribunal with written legal submissions from their representative.[5]
[5] Ibid, Doc ID 10961139.
The determinative claim
The determinative claim: whether the evidence is sufficient to establish to the satisfaction of the Tribunal the existence of a real chance that the applicant would be persecuted for the reason of religion if he is returned to Pakistan now or in the reasonably foreseeable future.
The evidence that is relevant and material to the determination of the claim
The applicant, [and] the second named applicant, [Mrs A], gave evidence in this review. They are married and live together in an ongoing, committed personal relationship.
The third named applicant, Ms [Miss G], is the daughter of [the applicant] and [Mrs A]. She did not give evidence. Ms [Miss G] is [age] years of age. She resides with her parents and depends on them for material support, shelter, parental guidance, and emotional support.
Family unit
The evidence satisfies the Tribunal that the second and third named applicants are members of the family unit (MFU) of [the applicant], as MFU is defined in reg 1.12 of the Regulations, therefore, the three applicants are members of the same family unit as defined in s 5(1) of the Act.
If the Tribunal determines [the applicant’s] claim for protection in his favour, then the protection applications of the second and third named applicants may be remitted to the Minister for reconsideration based on their membership of the family unit of [him], a non-citizen who satisfies the requirements for the grant of a protection visa.
The applicant’s representative conceded on behalf of each applicant, that if the evidence satisfied the Tribunal that any one of the applicants satisfied the requirements for the grant of a protection visa, and the remaining applicants are members of the same family unit as the successful applicant, it would be unnecessary for the Tribunal to consider the individual claims of the remaining applicants. This concession was properly made.
Well-founded fear of persecution for the reason of religion
The Tribunal has considered the evidence given of [the applicant] and [Mrs A] separately and collectively, and in conjunction with the country information before the Tribunal. Additionally, the Tribunal paid close attention to the way both applicants gave their evidence.
After carefully scrutinising the evidence given by the [the applicant] and [Mrs A], the Tribunal is satisfied that both witnesses gave credible evidence in respect of certain matters that are relevant and material to deciding the determinative claim in this review. The Tribunal will now discuss those matters.
[The applicant] and [Mrs A] assert they are Muslims devoted to Shia Islam and they follow the teachings of Imam Hussain, whom they believe articulated the true message of the Prophet Mohammad. Imam Hussain was the grandson of Mohammad the Prophet.
According to the evidence, Imam Hussain was killed along with his family at Karbala in present day Iraq, by the followers of the companions of the Prophet Mohammad. According to the applicants, they, along with Muslims known as Shia Muslims, believe the companions of the Prophet Mohammad were corrupt usurpers of the descendants of Mohammad, who, because they were the descendants of the Prophet, were entitled to lead the Islamic peoples. The killing of Imam Hussain was the key event in the Sunni-Shia schism.[6]
[6] DFAT Country information report – Pakistan – January 2022 [3.59].
Relevantly, [the applicant] and [Mrs A] assert they believe, of all the Imams who succeeded Imam Hussain, the 12^th Imam is alive and with Allah, and at some indeterminate future time, he will return to this world and avenge the death of Imam Hussain. The applicant asserts that he has held these beliefs for as long as he is able to remember, and that he shares this belief with his ancestors and all Shia Muslims. According to the applicant and the second named applicant, these beliefs are an inherent part of being Shia Muslim.
According to the evidence of the applicant and his wife, they are devout Shia Muslims. The Tribunal accepts this evidence.
According to evidence accepted by the Tribunal, the applicant would be readily identified in Pakistan as a Shia Muslim due to his name which, according to the applicant, is a common Shia name. This evidence is consistent with the DFAT Country Information Report – Pakistan – January 2022 (DFAT report) which states that Shia Muslims in Pakistan may be readily identifiable by their [family] name.[7]
[7] Ibid [3.56].
According to the evidence, shortly after the applicant arrived in Australia on [date] September 2006, he engaged actively and prominently with the Shia community in Melbourne. He has consistently attended a Shia Mosque and adhered to prayer rituals and participated openly in Shia processions, discussion groups, and protests in Melbourne and Canberra against the mistreatment of Shia Muslims in Pakistan and [Country 2], a major Sunni Muslim power.
The applicant founded the [ORGANISATION 3] to serve the welfare needs of Shia Pakistani in Australia. The organisation raised funds and collected food and other goods and donated them to bushfire victims.
The [ORGANISATION 3] delivers groceries and meals to needy members of the Pakistani community.
During the COVID-19 pandemic and associated State Government directed ‘lockdowns’ the [ORGANISATION 3] [did specified work]. Under the leadership of the applicant, members of the organisation translated and circulated, via the organisation’s [social media] page, information published by the Victorian Government about the COVID‑19 pandemic.
According to the evidence, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the [ORGANISATION 3], under the leadership and at the instigation of the applicant, posted on the organisation’s [social media] page religious and political commentary. During the ‘lockdowns’, the applicant regularly ran a program on [social media].’ As the Tribunal understands the evidence, this program led to the [ORGANISATION 3]’s [social media] page being blocked for two weeks. Later [social media] blocked the page entirely because the content contravened [social media]’s content guidelines.
As the Tribunal understands the evidence, the offending material was religious, and it promoted Shia religious beliefs with a focus on remembering and mourning Imam Hussain and that the Imam and his family were killed by the companions of Mohammad who are now known as Sunni Muslims. The [social media] postings stirred controversy and objection which was reflected in comments posted on the [ORGANISATION 3] [social media] page. In summation, these comments asserted the applicant was spreading false religious propaganda and his messages were inconsistent the true Islam.
The applicant created a new [social media] page. He now refrains from publishing content of the same nature as the content that led to the cancellation of the [ORGANISATION 3] [social media] page.
According to the evidence, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, he formed an alliance with the [a church]. Under his leadership, members of the Shia community collected food, prepared meals, and packed them for distribution by members of a named branch of the [a church]. This relationship is continuing. Additionally, when assistance is requested by a named member of the [a church], the applicant arranges members of the Shia community to provide traditional food and general support at their festivals and gatherings.
The evidence satisfies the Tribunal that the applicant takes a prominent role in two annual public religious processions, processions he identified as the Ashura and Arbaeen [the applicant’s spelling] processions. The applicant also organises the audio-visual recording of these processions. He posts the recordings online.
According to the evidence, the applicant walks at the front of these [processions]. [By] raising the flag, the applicant and Shia Muslims who participate in these processions remind the world that the schism between Shia and Sunni Muslims is not forgotten, and that it is as significant today as it was time it occurred.
The applicant said in evidence that he rejects violence and that he would not support Shia Muslims using violence against Sunni Muslims. He also said he believes in equality between Muslim women and men, equality of access to education, employment, recreational activities, and mainstream social and political life. According to the applicant’s evidence, if he did not believe these things, his wife, the second named applicant, would not be with him.
According to the evidence at hearing of the applicant’s wife, [Mrs A], and the applicant, [Mrs A] is the [Position 2] of the [ORGANISATION 3] and a prominent member of the Melbourne Shia community. She designs the schedules for the Shia Majalis which the applicant posts on his [Page 1] on the Melbourne [social media] page. As the Tribunal understands the evidence, supported by readily accessible online information, Majalis is an Arabic word that describes various types of special gatherings among people who share a common interest, in this case Shia Islamic beliefs, to discuss their common interests. The Tribunal is satisfied [Mrs A] actively and publicly organises and participates in Shia Muslim Majalis gatherings.
The evidence establishes that [Mrs A], a person who holds tertiary [qualifications], designs and publishes on the [ORGANISATION 3] website, the Ramadan calendar for all state capitals in Australia for the information of Shia Muslims in Australia. The Tribunal accepts [Mrs A]’s evidence that the applicant and other volunteers distribute hard copies of the Ramadan calendar to Shia Muslims in Melbourne and soft copies online.
The evidence satisfies the Tribunal that [Mrs A] participates in women’s Majalis on most Thursdays at the [a venue] in [Suburb 1], Melbourne. Additionally, along with her husband and their daughter, Ms [Miss G], she also participates in the annual Ashura public processions organised by the Ashura committee.
[Mrs A] asserts that it is most important to her and her husband that their daughter learns her religion, namely Shia Islam. She attends language school on Saturdays and studies Shia Islamic teachings. During Ramadan, [Miss G] will participate in a national online Quran quiz.
According to the applicant, his daughter, [Miss G], is a contentious student of Shia Islam and enthusiastically participates in religious and related [Arabic] language studies. [Miss G] wears the hijab (head scarf) selectively. Her attire is a matter for her.
According to the evidence, [Miss G] was born in Australia. She is a school student who participates fully in mainstream life at school. She is encouraged by her parents to advance her education so that she may fully and independently participate in the workforce and mainstream society in Australia.
[Miss G] does not write or read Urdu and her ability to speak the language is limited.
[Miss G] has never lived in Pakistan and she is unfamiliar with the culture and social norms of that society. According to the oral evidence, her lack of familiarity with the risks of sexual violence towards females in Pakistan, social norms, and her open devotion to Shia Islam in a predominantly Sunni Muslim society,[8] namely Pakistan, would expose her to a real chance of serious harm in that country. Additionally, it is contended that Delish has been socialised and acculturated in Australia: if she is removed to Pakistan, it is reasonably likely she will draw herself and the family unit to the attention of anti-Shia, non-state actors in Pakistan. This evidence is consistent with information stated in the DFAT report.
[8] DFAT report [3.28].
The DFAT report states at [3.98] that:
Pakistan has one of the worst records for gender equality in the world. According to the World Economic Forum’s 2021 Global Gender Gap Report, Pakistan ranked 153 out of 156 countries for female economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.
The DFAT report also states that the rate of gender-based violence against women in Pakistan is high, and it often goes unreported due to stigma and lack of privacy for women alleging they are a victim of sexual violence: [3.93]. This information is also authoritatively reported in country information provided to the Tribunal by the applicant’s representative.
The Tribunal will now consider the risks of harm, if any, the applicant may face if he is removed to Pakistan now or in the reasonably foreseeable future. The relevant risk of harm the applicant may face is properly assessed in this case on the basis of an amalgamation of risk factors that arise from the individual circumstances of each of the applicants.
First, the Tribunal will consider the evidence in the context of the country information before the Tribunal.
The DFAT reports that Shia Muslims face rising religious intolerance and official discrimination in the form of blasphemy accusations. Anti-Shia sentiment is seen in politics and the DFAT report gives examples of this sentiment: [3.57–3.58]. Sectarian tensions often flare during Muharram, when Shia mourn the killing of the Prophet Mohammad’s grandson and his family. DFAT reports instances of thousands of Sunnis taking to the streets in multiple cities including Karachi during Muharram, shouting anti-Shia slogans. There were targeted killings of Shia in multiple cities. During Muharram in 2020 more than 40 Shia were charged with blasphemy following Muharram: [3.59]. Seventy per cent of blasphemy accusations, which carry the death penalty, are against Shia: [3.61].
This information indicates that levels of antipathy to Shia is such that Sunnis believe Shia commit a religious crime by their remembrances of the death of the grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, at the hands of the forebears of Sunni Muslims, and for that reason they are blasphemers and deserve to be subjected to the death penalty.
The DFAT report states that historically Shia have been targeted by multiple terrorist groups: [3.60]. These groups target individuals, places of worship, shrines, and religious schools, as well as religious pilgrims travelling to Iran or Iraq. DFAT reports these attacks have steadily declined in frequency since 2013 due to increased security at Shia places of worship and processions: [3.60]. In this regard, the DFAT report states that terrorist attacks targeting Shia killed five and injured 14 in 2020 compared to 32 deaths in 2019 and 471 deaths in 2013. Read in context, DFAT seems to be reporting about killings that occurred at places of worship and processions.
The DFAT report also states that sectarian terrorist groups retain the capacity and intent to carry out attacks against Shia anywhere in the country. By way of example, DFAT reports that at least three people were killed and 50 injured in the bombing of a Shia procession in Punjab in August 2021: [3.60].
This information, combined with country information the applicant provided to the Tribunal, relevantly indicates that current widespread antipathy and violence on the part of Sunni Muslims and non-state sectarian organisations and anti-Shia non-state actors against devotees of Shia Islam is ongoing in Pakistan.
Whilst acknowledging the security situation for Shia Muslims has improved in recent years, DFAT assessed in January 2022 that Shia in Pakistan face a moderate risk of sectarian violence: [3.61]; it also stated that Shia face a moderate risk of societal discrimination in the form of anti-Shia protests and community violence: [3.61].
‘Moderate risk’ is defined by DFAT in the DFAT report to mean ‘DFAT is aware of sufficient evidence to suggest a pattern of behaviour.’
The applicant has submitted to the Tribunal country information reports from various sources that provide information that is consistent with the DFAT report about the present-day risk of serious harm faced by Shia Muslims in Pakistan from anti-Shia non-state actors, such as Sunni Muslims and sectarian terrorist groups.
In the context of the country information before the Tribunal, it is necessary to consider further the evidence upon which the applicant relies to establish he is entitled to protection according to the laws of Australia.
In considering the totality of the applicant’s evidence, the evidence of his wife, [Mrs A], and the Tribunal’s finding that the applicant is a credible witness, the Tribunal is satisfied the applicant’s Shia religion, his participation in Muharram in Australia and associated public processions, including [and] his work in advancing the lives of Shia Muslims, is a set of behaviours that are faith based. In the opinion of the Tribunal, these behaviours in Australia express an innate and immutable characteristic of the applicant, namely his faith in Shia Islam as the true form of Islam. In reaching this conclusion, the Tribunal has given significant weight to the evidence of [Mrs A] and the supporting documentation before the Tribunal.
[Mrs A]’s evidence is consistent with and supportive of the applicant’s evidence about his religious beliefs and his high-profile, faith-based community activities in Australia. Additionally, the Tribunal is satisfied [Mrs A] is a devout Shia Muslim who is engaged in the faith community activities she described in her evidence, and that she contentiously and publicly engages in these activities with the applicant and their daughter.
The Tribunal is satisfied the three applicants are devout Shia Muslims and that their private and public acts of devotion are an ongoing essential ingredient of their identity and their private and public lives.
The evidence is sufficient to satisfy the Tribunal that the faith-based public profile of the applicant and [Mrs A] would be well known by Pakistani in Australia, and there is a real chance that non-state anti-Shia actors in Pakistan would be aware of those activities now, or become aware of those activities and the faith-based conviction of the applicant, in the reasonably foreseeable future, if he and [Mrs A] and their daughter were removed to Pakistan.
The evidence, considered as a whole, is sufficient to satisfy the Tribunal that the applicant would continue to participate in high-profile remembrances of the death of the Prophet Mohammad’s grandson and his family, and that he would adopt a prominent public stance against the hostility and targeted sectarian violence experienced by Shia Muslims across Pakistan.
The evidence and country information before the Tribunal, when considered together, is sufficient to satisfy the Tribunal that violence carried out by sectarian non-state actors who target Shia Muslims in Pakistan is indicative of a pattern of sectarian behaviours that is systematic and discriminatory.
The Tribunal emphasises that an essential finding in the chain of reasoning in this decision is the Tribunal’s finding that the applicant, and the secondary applicant, have given accurate and reliable evidence about the nature, strength, and purpose of their religious beliefs and their faith-based activities. Importantly, the Tribunal is also satisfied the applicant and his wife would continue these activities in private and public in Pakistan, and that there is a real chance the applicant and his wife and daughter would be targeted by non-state anti-Shia actors in Pakistan for religious reasons.
Having considered the whole of the evidence and country information before the Tribunal cumulatively, and the applicant’s claims individually and cumulatively, the evidence is sufficient to establish to the satisfaction of the Tribunal the existence of a real chance the applicant would be subjected to serious harm for the reason of his religion, a reason that meets the provisions of s 5J(1)(a) of the Act, if he is removed to Pakistan now or in the reasonably foreseeable future. Accordingly, the Tribunal finds the applicant satisfies the criterion in s 36(2)(a) of the Act.

The Tribunal is satisfied the real chance of serious harm relates to all areas of Pakistan and that it is reasonably unlikely that effective protection measures would be consistently and reliably available to the applicant to protect him from a real chance of serious harm from anti-Shia non-state sectarian actors and terrorist groups.
The Tribunal is also satisfied religious persecution is the essential and significant reason for the real chance of systematic and discriminatory persecution the applicant would face if he were removed to Pakistan now or in the reasonably foreseeable future.
Consequently, the Tribunal is satisfied the applicant has a well-founded fear of persecution for a reason specified in s 5J(1) of the Act, namely religion, and that the applicant meets the definition of refugee as set out in s 5H of the Act.
For the reasons given above, the Tribunal is satisfied that the applicant is a person in respect of whom Australia has protection obligations under s 36(2)(a) of the Act.
The Tribunal is satisfied that the second and third named applicants are members of the same family unit as the applicant who is a person in respect of whom Australia has protection obligations for the purposes of s 36(2)(a) of the Act: see [40]-[44] in this decision.
The Tribunal is also satisfied the second and third named applicants are members of the same family unit as the first named applicant for the purposes of s 36(2)(b)(i) of the Act. As such, the fate of their application depends on the outcome of the first named applicant’s application. It follows that the second and third named applicants will be entitled to a protection visa provided the criterion in s 36(2)(b)(ii) of the Act, and the remaining criteria for the visa are met.
DECISION
The Tribunal remits the matter for reconsideration with the following directions:
(i)that the first named applicant satisfies s 36(2)(a) of the Act; and
(ii)that the other applicants satisfy s 36(2)(b)(i) of the Act, based on their membership of the same family unit as the first named applicant.
Peter Haag
Member

Attachment - Extract from Migration Act 1958
5 (1) Interpretation
…
cruel or inhuman treatment or punishment means an act or omission by which:
(a)     severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person; or
(b)     pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person so long as, in all the circumstances, the act or omission could reasonably be regarded as cruel or inhuman in nature;
but does not include an act or omission:
(c)     that is not inconsistent with Article 7 of the Covenant; or
(d)     arising only from, inherent in or incidental to, lawful sanctions that are not inconsistent with the Articles of the Covenant.
…
degrading treatment or punishment means an act or omission that causes, and is intended to cause, extreme humiliation which is unreasonable, but does not include an act or omission:
(a)     that is not inconsistent with Article 7 of the Covenant; or
(b)     that causes, and is intended to cause, extreme humiliation arising only from, inherent in or incidental to, lawful sanctions that are not inconsistent with the Articles of the Covenant.
…
torture means an act or omission by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person:
(a)     for the purpose of obtaining from the person or from a third person information or a confession; or
(b)     for the purpose of punishing the person for an act which that person or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed; or
(c)     for the purpose of intimidating or coercing the person or a third person; or
(d)     for a purpose related to a purpose mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c); or
(e)     for any reason based on discrimination that is inconsistent with the Articles of the Covenant;
but does not include an act or omission arising only from, inherent in or incidental to, lawful sanctions that are not inconsistent with the Articles of the Covenant.
…
receiving country, in relation to a non-citizen, means:
(a)     a country of which the non-citizen is a national, to be determined solely by reference to the law of the relevant country; or
(b)     if the non-citizen has no country of nationality—a country of his or her former habitual residence, regardless of whether it would be possible to return the non-citizen to the country.
…
5H    Meaning of refugee
(1)For the purposes of the application of this Act and the regulations to a particular person in Australia, the person is a refugee if the person is:
(a)     in a case where the person has a nationality – is outside the country of his or her nationality and, owing to a well-founded fear of persecution, is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country; or
(b)     in a case where the person does not have a nationality – is outside the country of his or her former habitual residence and owing to a well-founded fear of persecution, is unable or unwilling to return to it.
Note:     For the meaning of well-founded fear of persecution, see section 5J.
…
5J     Meaning of well-founded fear of persecution
(1)For the purposes of the application of this Act and the regulations to a particular person, the person has a well-founded fear of persecution if:
(a)     the person fears being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion; and
(b)     there is a real chance that, if the person returned to the receiving country, the person would be persecuted for one or more of the reasons mentioned in paragraph (a); and
(c)     the real chance of persecution relates to all areas of a receiving country.
Note:     For membership of a particular social group, see sections 5K and 5L.
(2)A person does not have a well-founded fear of persecution if effective protection measures are available to the person in a receiving country.
Note:     For effective protection measures, see section 5LA.
(3)A person does not have a well-founded fear of persecution if the person could take reasonable steps to modify his or her behaviour so as to avoid a real chance of persecution in a receiving country, other than a modification that would:
(a)     conflict with a characteristic that is fundamental to the person’s identity or conscience; or
(b)     conceal an innate or immutable characteristic of the person; or
(c)     without limiting paragraph (a) or (b), require the person to do any of the following:
(i)alter his or her religious beliefs, including by renouncing a religious conversion, or conceal his or her true religious beliefs, or cease to be involved in the practice of his or her faith;
(ii)conceal his or her true race, ethnicity, nationality or country of origin;
(iii)alter his or her political beliefs or conceal his or her true political beliefs;
(iv)conceal a physical, psychological or intellectual disability;
(v)enter into or remain in a marriage to which that person is opposed, or accept the forced marriage of a child;
(vi)alter his or her sexual orientation or gender identity or conceal his or her true sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status.
(4)If a person fears persecution for one or more of the reasons mentioned in paragraph (1)(a):
(a)     that reason must be the essential and significant reason, or those reasons must be the essential and significant reasons, for the persecution; and
(b)     the persecution must involve serious harm to the person; and
(c)     the persecution must involve systematic and discriminatory conduct.
(5)Without limiting what is serious harm for the purposes of paragraph (4)(b), the following are instances of serious harm for the purposes of that paragraph:
(a)     a threat to the person’s life or liberty;
(b)     significant physical harassment of the person;
(c)     significant physical ill‑treatment of the person;
(d)     significant economic hardship that threatens the person’s capacity to subsist;
(e)     denial of access to basic services, where the denial threatens the person’s capacity to subsist;
(f)     denial of capacity to earn a livelihood of any kind, where the denial threatens the person’s capacity to subsist.
(6)In determining whether the person has a well‑founded fear of persecution for one or more of the reasons mentioned in paragraph (1)(a), any conduct engaged in by the person in Australia is to be disregarded unless the person satisfies the Minister that the person engaged in the conduct otherwise than for the purpose of strengthening the person’s claim to be a refugee.
5K    Membership of a particular social group consisting of family
For the purposes of the application of this Act and the regulations to a particular person (the first person), in determining whether the first person has a well‑founded fear of persecution for the reason of membership of a particular social group that consists of the first person’s family:
(a)     disregard any fear of persecution, or any persecution, that any other member or former member (whether alive or dead) of the family has ever experienced, where the reason for the fear or persecution is not a reason mentioned in paragraph 5J(1)(a); and
(b)     disregard any fear of persecution, or any persecution, that:
(i)the first person has ever experienced; or
(ii)any other member or former member (whether alive or dead) of the family has ever experienced;
where it is reasonable to conclude that the fear or persecution would not exist if it were assumed that the fear or persecution mentioned in paragraph (a) had never existed.
Note:     Section 5G may be relevant for determining family relationships for the purposes of this section.
5L    Membership of a particular social group other than family
For the purposes of the application of this Act and the regulations to a particular person, the person is to be treated as a member of a particular social group (other than the person’s family) if:
(a)     a characteristic is shared by each member of the group; and
(b)     the person shares, or is perceived as sharing, the characteristic; and
(c)     any of the following apply:
(i)the characteristic is an innate or immutable characteristic;
(ii)the characteristic is so fundamental to a member’s identity or conscience, the member should not be forced to renounce it;
(iii)the characteristic distinguishes the group from society; and
(d)     the characteristic is not a fear of persecution.
5LA Effective protection measures
(1)For the purposes of the application of this Act and the regulations to a particular person, effective protection measures are available to the person in a receiving country if:
(a)     protection against persecution could be provided to the person by:
(i)the relevant State; or
(ii)a party or organisation, including an international organisation, that controls the relevant State or a substantial part of the territory of the relevant State; and
(b)     the relevant State, party or organisation mentioned in paragraph (a) is willing and able to offer such protection.
(2)A relevant State, party or organisation mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) is taken to be able to offer protection against persecution to a person if:
(a)     the person can access the protection; and
(b)     the protection is durable; and
(c)     in the case of protection provided by the relevant State—the protection consists of an appropriate criminal law, a reasonably effective police force and an impartial judicial system.
…
36     Protection visas – criteria provided for by this Act
…
(2)A criterion for a protection visa is that the applicant for the visa is:
(a)     a non-citizen in Australia in respect of whom the Minister is satisfied Australia has protection obligations because the person is a refugee; or
(aa) a non-citizen in Australia (other than a non-citizen mentioned in paragraph (a)) in respect of whom the Minister is satisfied Australia has protection obligations because the Minister has substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of the non-citizen being removed from Australia to a receiving country, there is a real risk that the non-citizen will suffer significant harm; or
(b)     a non-citizen in Australia who is a member of the same family unit as a non-citizen who:
(i)is mentioned in paragraph (a); and
(ii)holds a protection visa of the same class as that applied for by the applicant; or
(c)     a non-citizen in Australia who is a member of the same family unit as a non-citizen who:
(i)is mentioned in paragraph (aa); and
(ii)holds a protection visa of the same class as that applied for by the applicant.
(2A)A non‑citizen will suffer significant harm if:
(a)     the non‑citizen will be arbitrarily deprived of his or her life; or
(b)     the death penalty will be carried out on the non‑citizen; or
(c)     the non‑citizen will be subjected to torture; or
(d)     the non‑citizen will be subjected to cruel or inhuman treatment or punishment; or
(e)     the non‑citizen will be subjected to degrading treatment or punishment.
(2B)However, there is taken not to be a real risk that a non‑citizen will suffer significant harm in a country if the Minister is satisfied that:
(a)     it would be reasonable for the non‑citizen to relocate to an area of the country where there would not be a real risk that the non‑citizen will suffer significant harm; or
(b)     the non‑citizen could obtain, from an authority of the country, protection such that there would not be a real risk that the non‑citizen will suffer significant harm; or
(c)     the real risk is one faced by the population of the country generally and is not faced by the non‑citizen personally.
…

Part C, Application for Protection Visa, Department file CLF201617568,
folios 19–17.

[2023] AATA 2468

28 April 2023

Key Legal Topics

Areas of Law

Immigration

Statutory Interpretation

Legal Concepts

Judicial Review

Jurisdiction

Procedural Fairness

Statutory Construction

Remedies

Natural Justice