Tag: UNHCR

  • Pakistanis seeking asylum in foreign countries will not receive passports

    Pakistanis seeking asylum in foreign countries will not receive passports

    The federal Ministry of Interior has decided on Tuesday not to issue passports to Pakistanis who have requested asylum or are already living on asylum in foreign countries, citing security concerns.

    The ministry sent a letter to relevant authorities asking them not to issue travel documents to asylum seekers.

    According to the ministry’s notification, previously issued passports will be suspended and not renewed.

    The Director General Passports issued the notification on Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s directions.

    The Foreign Ministry and other relevant authorities have also received copies of the notification.

    According to data issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),  almost 40,618 Pakistanis applied for asylum in 2022.

    Most Pakistani asylum seekers are currently based in Italy, Austria, and Canada.

    Some of them are in the United States of America, as almost 1477 individuals fled away from Pakistan to the USA in 2022.

    Pakistan was the fifth most represented country, with 5342 immigrants arriving in Europe; however, the number of Pakistani asylum seekers in Greece didn’t increase from 2022 to 2023.

  • What did Angelina Jolie do in Pakistan?

    What did Angelina Jolie do in Pakistan?

    United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Special Envoy and Hollywood actor Angelina Jolie arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday, September 20, to support communities affected by devastating floods.

    Jolie has arrived to witness and gain an understanding of the situation and to hear from people about their needs and steps to prevent such suffering in the future.

    Jolie will highlight the need for urgent support for the Pakistani people and long-term solutions to address the multiplying crises of climate change, human displacement and protracted insecurity we are witnessing globally.

    She will see first-hand how countries like Pakistan are paying the greatest cost for a crisis they did not cause.

    “The IRC hopes her visit will shed light on this issue and prompt the international community — particularly states contributing the most to carbon emissions — to act and provide urgent support to countries bearing the brunt of the climate crisis,” it said.

    IRC’s latest needs assessment shows people are in urgent need of food, drinking water, shelter, and healthcare. Every person the organisation surveyed reported women and girls have no access to menstrual hygiene products.

    Jolie, who previously visited victims of the 2010 floods and 2005 earthquake in Pakistan when she was the UNHCR’s goodwill ambassador, is scheduled to visit the IRC’s emergency response operations and local organisations assisting displaced people, including Afghan refugees.

    The Government of Pakistan stated that it finds Jolie’s gesture heart warming.