ISLAMABAD: Just four hours before the expiry of the constitutional term of the National Assembly and the federal cabinet, the government signed a major agreement with the British government giving it the right to expel 25 Pakistanis in a year without following any legal procedure.

The agreement is a blatant violation of the Constitution and the law, as the federal cabinet’s approval is a must before signing any such agreement with a state.

According to credible sources, the UK had been demanding this right by making major amendments to a 2005 agreement signed between the two countries.

Under this agreement, Pakistan was being asked to surrender the right of its citizens living in the UK to approach courts against any adverse action taken against them so that the British authorities could forcibly send them back home.

The UK was pressing Pakistan to amend the 2005 immigration matters related agreement in a way that it could deport as many as 25 Pakistanis without fulfilling any legal formalities or presenting evidences against them in the British courts. However, both the Foreign Office of Pakistan and security agencies objected to this move.

On Saturday, Farid Ahmad Khan, Director National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC), was allegedly pressured by the government to sign the new agreement with British High Commissioner in Pakistan Adam Thomson.

Talking to The News, Farid Khan admitted signing this major amendment to the 2005 agreement. He also admitted that the federal cabinet had never approved this.

He, however, insisted that there was no pressure on him and the amendment draft had been written and approved by his superiors. Farid said he had signed it as all his superiors had already approved it.

“See this is obvious that this agreement will be applicable after approval of the next federal cabinet,” Farid said. He repeatedly insisted that the signing of this agreement will not infringe the rights of Pakistanis in the UK.

