The fate of 67 Pakistani nationals detained in Tihar Jail continues to hang in limbo with the Delhi High Court on Wednesday asking the Centre to obtain a clarification from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on the process of granting asylum.In April, 2007 the group had fled Pakistan fearing prosecution on the charges of blasphemy as they belonged to Mehdi Foundation, a multi-faith spiritual organisation that promoted the doctrine of divine love. After coming to India, they staged a protest in New Delhi against the Pakistani Government and burnt their passports. The Delhi Police arrested them on April 23, 2007 for not having valid documents to stay in India. Consequently, one of the 67 nationals, Saifullah Bajwa, approached the Delhi High Court seeking a judicial intervention against the Centre’s plan to deport them to Pakistan for staying in India without a valid documents. In his petition, Bajwa, represented by advocate Meenakshi Arora, requested for asylum on the ground that the existing Pakistani law prescribes life sentence or death penalty for blasphemy. A Bench of Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice S Muralidhar had subsequently stayed their deportation in an earlier hearing. The Centre has now been told to file its response by February 11, 2009, the next date of hearing.
