A Sri Lankan court of appeal on Friday suspended the government’s decision to send back Pakistani asylum seekers notably from the Ahmadiyya, Christian and Shia communities.

The interim relief has been granted till August 29 when the state must come to court for argument of the case.

The order was obtained as Sri Lanka took action to deport them since the beginning of this month.

Lawyers claimed that over 100 of them had been deported since August 1 while 75 of them are still under detention.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said they were seriously concerned over the deportations.

It said by sending the people back, “Sri Lanka is in breach of its obligations under international law concerning the principle of no forced returns or non refoulement”.

The Pakistani asylum seekers consist of its persecuted Ahmadiyya Muslims, Christian and Shia communities.
(The Indian Express)