Pakistani delegates refused visas to Canada: World Youth Congress

The Canadian High Commission turned down visa requests by all intending participants of the Fourth World Youth Congress from Pakistan citing fear that they might not return home after the 10-day event, scheduled to kick off on August 11 in Quebec.

Most delegates have received letters from the high commission each stating that the applicant could not satisfy the immigration authorities that he will leave Canada at the end of the temporary period if he is authorised to stay.

Among those who have been refused visas are young graduates, professionals and civil right activists who were invited by the Peace Child International, an educational charity registered with a UN organisation, ECOSOC, having a network of more than 500 youth eco-groups in 150 countries. The agency works closely with the United Nations and its agencies to empower youth to support its member states in achieving the millennium development goals.

The organisers are baffled by the situation, especially since they had notified the Canadian authorities more than two years ago about the event.One of the 17 delegates from Pakistan, Salman Dhedhi, who studies in a private university and works with the Participatory Development Initiatives as a volunteer, says they all underwent a rigorous nomination process for which over 5,000 people from across the world had applied for participation last year. In a four-month process, the 17 participants from Pakistan were finally short-listed.

Though the accommodation charges of around 350 Canadian dollars were waived for its member countries by the Canadian International Development Agency, the visa and travel expenses to Quebec were nearly 100,000 Canadian dollars for which each candidate had struggled to find some sponsors. “After managing the funds, we applied for the visa but at the final stage, we learned that we cannot travel because of the assumption that we may not return after the event is over,” he adds.

“Pakistan is being denied representation at the event that is expected to bring together 600 young delegates from over 120 countries, including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal,” he argues.The letters issued by the visa officer to almost all the Pakistani delegates says: “In reaching this decision, I considered several factors, including: your (the applicant’s) travel history, your immigration status, your family ties in Canada and your country of residence, length of proposed stay in Canada and purpose of visit, limited employment prospects in your country of residence, your current employment situation, personal assets and financial status.”

When asked about the reason for turning down their requests for visa, Senior Media and Public Diplomacy Officer at the high commission Anjum Nida Rahman said: “As a federal government department, the Canadian Immigration and Citizenship (CIC) is bound by the Privacy Act not to discuss the details of any case with anyone except the applicant and certain authorised people.“CIC considers nearly one million applications a year. In many cases, because of the volume of work, even if a person is informed of the reason for the refusal, the information given may be quite brief. For instance, you may be told that based on the information available, the visa officer is not satisfied that the applicant is a genuine visitor who will leave Canada when required to.”

However, she makes it clear that each application is assessed on individual merits and a multitude of factors are considered in reaching a final decision.Under the Canada Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, there is no formal right of appeal on temporary resident visa decisions, she says, adding that once the case is not approved, there are limited avenues of appeals though an applicant can always reapply if he wants to add some new information that he thinks can help him obtain the visa.

Pointing out that more than 8,000 people were issued Canadian visas by the high commission last year, she says more than five million people from across the globe visit the country every year.

Having lived abroad for 13 years, Mishelle Raza is another delegate who has been denied a visa. The visa officer claimed that the applicant has a low travel history though she has attended several international conferences in the past, most recent being the international Young Leaders Conference, she laments.“We have no business to stay in Canada after the congress. This is a learning opportunity for us and we hope that we can grow and groom ourselves through such an experience,” she clarifies.

However, the denial of visas to almost all the delegates on the same grounds puts a question mark on their claim that they assess the case of every individual separately, she observes.

Khalida Brohi is yet another delegate selected from Karachi for the event. Presently working for a non-governmental organization, the last international event she had attended was held in the Philippines. However, like other applicants her request for a visa was turned down by the Canadian High Commission.

The delegates selected from other parts of the country were Tahseen Asghar, Waqas Banori, Farhan Bogra, Anam Gill, Maimoona Gul, Adnan Hakeem, Javed Hussain, Mohammad Iqbal, Tamour Ishraq, Sohaib Khaliq, Saima Khan, Faridullah Khan, Sumair Khattak and Anila Zahid.

“Following the visa refusal, we started contacting the secretariat for youth affairs, ministry of foreign affairs, the Canadian High Commissioner in Islamabad, Governor General of Canada Michaelle Jean and Canadian Minister for Citizenship and Immigration Diane Finley, amongst the countless others,” Mr Dhedhi recalls, adding that Federal Secretary for Youth Affairs Ashfaq Mehmood forwarded a letter to Malik Qamar Abbas Khokar, the Assistant Director (Americas) at the Foreign Ministry recommending our cases. However, despite our repeated attempts and the requests forwarded by the international director of the World Youth Congress Series and the foreign office in Islamabad, a positive response by the high commission is still awaited, he says.It is pertinent to note that dozens of major conventions are held in Canada as part of the 400th anniversary celebrations of Quebec. However, organisers of a series of conventions, including the Francophonie Summit, planned for the coming months are pulling their hair out over Canadian immigration authority’s denial of visas to a number of guests from various countries.

According to media reports, opposition parties in Ottawa accuse the federal government of being overzealous by refusing to let many of the invited guests in. They say the situation is shameful and it hurts Canada’s image.

When the issue was raised in the House of Commons, Immigration Minister Diane Finley said “It was impossible to guarantee that all requests would be approved because every single one was reviewed individually.”“The security and protection of our people here is our first responsibility,” Ms Finley said without further explaining the reason for turning down so many visa requests.

Postscript: Two applicants aspiring to attend the congress have been issued visa by the authorities as they re-applied after this story was carried by Daily Dawn, the most widely circulated Engligh newspaper in Pakistan, on July 19, 2008.