2108880 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an application for a protection visa by a citizen of Pakistan. The applicant claimed to fear persecution from his deceased wife's brothers, who blamed him for her suicide and had threatened to kill him. He asserted that the police in Pakistan offered no protection and that there was no safe place for him to relocate within the country, particularly given the alleged links between his persecutors and the Taliban.

The court was required to determine whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). Specifically, the court had to consider whether the applicant was a refugee within the meaning of section 5H of the Act, or whether he faced a real risk of suffering significant harm as a consequence of being removed from Australia, as per section 36(2)(aa) of the Act. This involved assessing the applicant's claims of a well-founded fear of persecution and the availability of effective protection measures in Pakistan.

The court affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa. It found that the applicant did not satisfy the criterion in section 36(2)(a) of the Act, which relates to being a refugee. Furthermore, the court determined that the applicant did not satisfy the criterion in section 36(2)(aa), which concerns complementary protection obligations due to a real risk of significant harm. The decision noted that there was no suggestion the applicant qualified under section 36(2)(b) or (c) as a member of the same family unit as a person who held a protection visa.