Janas Khan is one of the North West 10 Pakistan students arrested in Brown’s “terror raids” of April this year. He was released from deportation in July but only to face “administrative removal” for working more hours than permitted under his student visa. His appeal hearing took place in Manchester Asylum and Immigration Tribunal on Friday August 14th.

Following a lively protest outside the Tribunal, a packed court room heard  the Immigration Judge try to separate the student appeal from the appalling  treatment that Janas has faced as a result of his (“unalwful”) arrest and  prolonged detention since then. Lawyers for Janas resisted this strongly and  argued that his appeal should not only succeed under the “inflexible”  Immigration Rules but also that Janas’ rights to a private life have been  grossly interfered with due to his high security imprisonment and the least  that the state could do is to give him back the time he has so unfairly lost  to complete his degree in Business Administration.

Janas made clear that “he is not an asylum seeker, not a terrorist, but a  student”. All he had done was to come to this country to study, so that he  could gain a qualification, and return home to Pakistan to progress his  career. His studies were supported by the Pro Vice Chancellor of Liverpool  Hope University and his Head of Department, who had phoned him from holiday  in France and emailed the court his full personal support for completing the  course – as well as by letters and cards from other students at the University. Janas had an excellent attendance record and high marks for his assignments and presentations.

As the evidence showed, British universities now set up offices in Pakistan  to recruit foreign students in order to help pay for the costs of the  institutions that should be publicly funded by this government. Students  such as Janas are only able to study because their families have saved up to  send their children here – Janas is the only one of the 12 children in his  family to go to university. The purpose of the Immigration Rules is to enable students to come here – and to sustain themselves through their studies here.

So students are entitled to work in law – and Janas had worked on a night shift “security” for Homebase where he spent the time studying and sleeping. He had no contract or terms and conditions and could have a shift cancelled at no notice. This may say something about the parlous state of this country’s deregulated and privatised security firms – but the point is that his “work” didn’t interfere with his studies at all. Unbelievably the Home Office representative said this didn’t matter – “whether he was asleep or awake, he was still at work”. Is this the attitude that the Home Office staff take to their labours?

And Janas’ appeal cannot be divorced from what has happened to him since. He has a right to study and a right to work. The Immigration Rules are arguably in breach of human rights in the inflexible way in which they interpret this. Janas’ private life rights demand that he be returned the months he has had taken away from him – and that he be allowed to finish his course and return to Pakistan as he had always intended.

Finally the lawyers for Janas argued to the Judge that he is now at risk of  ill treatment at the hands of the Pakistan security services if returned  without his name being completely cleared. The UK Government has itself admitted that it has gained no assurances from the Pakistan Government as to the safety on return. This was admitted in the Secret Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) back in May. The Government said it was going to  get these assurances. Simon John Manley of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) was going to Pakistan the next week to do so. The reality is  that no assurances have been given. Another of the students, Tariq ul  Rehman, returned voluntarily in June and was promptly “debriefed” at the airport and has gone underground. The Home Office reply to his lawyers stated clearly that no assurances for his safety could be given.

So the message that will go out if Janas is removed from this country without finishing his degree and sent back to Pakistan is that there is no  smoke without fire. Justice will only be done if he is allowed to complete  his studies. The restrictions put on him by the Home Office leave him languishing in Leigh. These must be lifted, his appeal must be allowed, and he must be enabled to return to Liverpool University without delay.

The Judge’s decision is expected in writing in about a fortnight.