2316659 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the case of an applicant seeking a protection visa. The applicant, a Sunni Muslim from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan, claimed to have fled his country due to threats from the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an organisation that allegedly sought to recruit him. The applicant further alleged that in revenge for his refusal to join, the TTP mistakenly murdered his cousin in 2016. The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons outlined in section 5J of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), or alternatively, if there were substantial grounds to believe that the applicant would suffer significant harm as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of being removed to Pakistan.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on assessing the applicant's claims against the criteria for protection visas under the Act, including the refugee criterion and the complementary protection criterion. It acknowledged the country information indicating the TTP's activity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the rise in armed attacks in the region. The Tribunal considered the applicant's stated fear of persecution stemming from his rejected membership of a Taliban-affiliated organisation and the alleged mistaken identity leading to his cousin's death.

Ultimately, the Tribunal concluded that the matter should be remitted for reconsideration. The decision indicates that the Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa under section 36(2)(a) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The Tribunal remitted the matter with a direction that the applicant satisfies this criterion.