1913941 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by a citizen of Pakistan. The applicant claimed to fear persecution from anti-Shia groups and fundamentalist or extremist organisations in Pakistan due to his alleged involvement as an informer for a government agency and his perceived interest in the Shia faith, which his family suspected was a conversion from Sunni Islam. The Federal Circuit Court had previously remitted the application to the Tribunal due to a jurisdictional error.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant could establish a well-founded fear of persecution for a Convention reason, specifically membership of a particular social group, and whether he met the criteria for complementary protection. The Tribunal was required to consider the applicant's claims of being an informer, his associations with Shia individuals, his attendance at Shia events, and the resulting threats and harassment he and his family had experienced.

The Tribunal considered the applicant's evidence regarding his activities as an informer and his interactions with individuals associated with extremist groups. It also examined the claims of harassment and threats directed at the applicant and his family, stemming from suspicions of his conversion to Shia Islam. The Tribunal was required to assess whether these fears were objectively well-founded and linked to a Convention reason, taking into account relevant country information and guidelines.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision to refuse the protection visa.