Nawaz Sharif’s chances of success in visa extension case bleak — legal experts

Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif arrives at his office in central London on July 6, 2018. (AFP/File)

• The UK Home Department refused to extend the former Pakistani prime minister’s stay in the country on medical grounds, making him file an appeal
• Experts say the British immigration tribunal may take about a year to issue its verdict in the case

ISLAMABAD: The chances that Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif will win a visa extension from the British immigration tribunal on medical grounds are bleak, said legal experts on Friday, adding the final verdict in the case could take about a year.
Sharif, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison by an accountability court in his country in a corruption reference in July 2018, was given an eight-week medical bail in October 2019 for treatment in London.
However, he did not return to Pakistan after flying to the United Kingdom.
According to the local media, the UK Home Department refused to extend his stay in Britian on medical grounds, making the former prime minister appeal the decision.
His political faction in Pakistan issued a statement on Friday, saying that Sharif would continue his stay in London until the completion of his medical treatment.
“The appeal [for his visa extension] has been filed as per the legal requirements,” announced his younger brother and the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party. “Nawaz Sharif can stay in London legally till the final decision on his appeal.”
However, legal experts maintained that UK authorities followed strict legal conditions while extending visa on medical grounds.
Barrister Mohammed Amjad, director Legal Rights Partnership, said the rejection of Sharif’s application by the UK Home Department was a usual process, adding the former Pakistani prime minister could fight his case in the British Immigration Tribunal to continue his stay in London.
“The tribunal may take about a year to decide the appeal,” he said. “Given the past precedents, however, the chances are very slim that his visa extension application will be accepted on medical grounds.”
Amjad added visas were only extended for medical reasons if a court was satisfied that an individual's deportation could cause severe damage to his health.
“If his application is refused by the tribunal, Sharif may get another chance to file an appeal,” he continued.
“At the end of the day, the UK government’s political will is going to count in this case. It is yet to be seen if it is interested in deporting Sharif or willing to allow him to stay in the country,” he maintained.
Despite being convicted for corruption, Sharif denies any wrongdoing and terms all charges against him as politically motivated.
“The issue is that the UK Home Department has rejected Sharif’s visa extension appeal, and now what is the point of law for the tribunal to grant a reprieve to him,” Barrister Gul Nawaz Khan, solicitor and director of a UK-based law firm Addison & Khan Solicitors, told Arab News.
He said the former Pakistani prime minister would not be deported to his country immediately even if his appeal was rejected since he had the right to file another appeal in a higher court.
“If someone visits the UK on medical ground and then seeks visa extension, they have to submit solid evidence for that,” he added.
“In legal terms, Sharif’s case is weak unless doctors in the UK recommend a ban on his air travel due to his illness or diagnose a disease that cannot be treated in Pakistan,” Khan continued.