SUPPORTERS of a Pakistani family who have been refused asylum in the UK have called on the Home Office to halt their deportation.
Asad and Gullrukh Gul and their three young children are due to be deported from Britain tomorrow.
The family, who are Christians, say they fled from Lahore because of persecution from Islamist extremists.
They were taken from their home in Glasgow to the Dungavel Detention Centre late last week and have since been transferred to the Yarl’s Wood facility in Bedfordshire ahead of their imminent deportation.
Supporters in their local community say an important supporting statement from Mrs Gul’s London-based sister was not submitted with the family’s original application to stay in Britain.
It has now been handed in and a campaign has been launched to allow the family to remain in the UK.
Graeme Bell, the minister of Carnwadric Church in Glasgow, said Mr Gul had been targeted in Pakistan for printing Christian literature and had been accused of blasphemy – a charge which carries the death penalty.
He said: “I have written to the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and a lot of people are sending e-mails to the airline to ask that they will not take the family on as passengers.
“The family are hugely distressed – the children don’t know where they are and are really disorientated and upset.”
The Rev Ian Galloway, convener of the Church of Scotland’s church and society council, said the case should be re-examined.
“Whatever the merits of the case, these three small children are being sent back with their parents and I am not confident that they would be going back into a position of safety.”
Campaigners plan to highlight the Gul family’s case at a demonstration outside Glasgow’s Brand Street Immigration Centre today.
A Home Office spokeswoman said: “All applications for asylum are carefully considered by trained caseworkers based on accurate up-to-date information, taking into account all the circumstances of an application.
“We only return those who the asylum decision-making and independent appeals processes have found do not need international protection and who can therefore return safely. We consider it reasonable to expect an individual who has been found not to need protection to return to their source country. If they do not depart voluntarily, we may enforce their return.”