Citation: 2019 RLLR 18
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: March 11, 2019
Panel: J. Bousfield
Counsel for the Claimant(s): Lisa Rosenblatt
Country: Pakistan
RPD Number: TB8-18500
Associated RPD Number(s): TB8-18564, TB8-18565, TB8-18566, TB8-18567
ATIP Number: A-2021-01124
ATIP Pages: 000128-000131
DECISION
[1] MEMBER: This is the decision in the claims of [XXX], [XXX], [XXX], [XXX], and [XXX].
[2] They claims to be citizens of Pakistan from Sialkot, and are claiming refugee protection pursuant to Section 96 and 97 (1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
[3] COUNSEL: I am sorry. Can I interrupt for just one moment? [XXX], I know you have a little bit of difficulty expressing yourself, but your English is quite good in terms of understanding.
[4] CLAIMANT: Sometime.
[5] COUNSEL: Do you need the Interpreter to translate the decision, or…
[6] CLAIMANT: No. Yes. It is okay.
[7] INTERPRETER: It is okay?
[8] CLAIMANT: Yes.
[9] INTERPRETER: So, I do not have to translate.
[10] CLAIMANT: No.
[11] COUNSEL: Yes. I do not think she needs the Interpreter to translate.
[12] MEMBER: Okay.
[13] COUNSEL: She is quite, quite, good at understanding English.
[14] MEMBER: The principal Claimant was designated representative for the minor Claimants.
[15] The Minister intervened in this case on credibility grounds, but withdrew the intervention shortly before the hearing. Minister’s Counsel did not appear at the hearing.
[16] I am satisfied that the Claimants are citizens of Pakistan, and as to their personal identity based on their passports which can be found in Exhibit 1.
[17] The details of the allegations appear in the answers to the principal Claimant’s basis of claim form, which is Exhibit 2.1, and were elaborated upon by her in oral testimony during the hearing this afternoon.
[18] The central allegations of a much longer narrative are the following.
[19] The Claimants are practicing members of the Ahmadi faith. They have suffered a history of persecution in Pakistan because of their faith, including severe restrictions on their freedom of worship, ostracism, vandalism, assault, verbal abuse, threats, and harassment. Their Ahmadi relatives have also been persecuted.
[20] They therefore came to Canada on temporary resident visas in mid June 2018, and initiated these in-land refugee protection claims shortly after their arrival. They are afraid of further religious persecution if they return to Pakistan, and that they will not be able to freely practice their religion.
[21] For the following reasons I find that the Claimants are Convention refugees.
[22] The affirmed testimony of refugee claimants is presumed to be true, unless it is internally inconsistent, inherently implausible, or contradicted by country documents. In this regard, I am relying on the Federal Court of Appeal decision in Maldonado. There was no such fault with the principal Claimant’s testimony in the hearing this afternoon.
[23] Furthermore, the Claimants Ahmadi religion and the rest of the allegations in the case are confirmed by a substantial number of personal documents that I do not have sufficient reason to discount, including their passports indicating that they are Ahmadis, a travel permission from the minor Claimants’ father, a reliable Ahmadi certificate, Ahmadi identity cards, Ahmadi donation receipts, other Ahmadi documents, claim specific news reports, and a letter from the [XXX]. These documents can be found in Exhibits 1, 7, and 9.
[24] Furthermore, the principal Claimant displayed reasonable knowledge of the Ahmadi faith in response to the religious knowledge questions I asked her during the hearing. I therefore find that the principal Claimant is a credible witness, that the Claimants are practicing members of the Ahmadi faith, and all of the rest of the allegations in this case are also true on a balance of probabilities.
[25] Based on the credible allegations and the documentary evidence on country conditions before me, which can be found in Sections 1, 2, and 12 of Exhibit 3, which is the National Documentation Package for Pakistan for January 31, 2019, as well as in Claimant Exhibits 7 and 9, I am following Jurisprudential Guide TB7-01837 which holds that practicing members of the Ahmadi faith, like the Claimants, have a well-founded fear of persecution in Pakistan by reason of their Ahmadi religion, that adequate State protection is not available to them, and that they do not have viable internal flight alternatives.
[26] I therefore conclude that the Claimants are Convention refugees. The claims are therefore accepted. Thank you for coming.
[27] COUNSEL: Thank you very much.
[28] CLAIMANT: Thank you.
[29] MEMBER: Good afternoon.
[30] INTERPRETER: Thank you, Mr. Member.
[31] COUNSEL: So, I will give you your documents back, the originals. If you want to take the kids out to the reception area, I will meet you.
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