UK - Upper Tribunal, 26 January 2011, SA (political activist- internal location) Pakistan [2011] UKUT 30 (IAC)

He and his brother suffered attacks from 2005, including the burning down of shops and a restaurant that the applicant owned. His brother was then killed at a party meeting. The state took little or no action in response to the complaints of the applicant, because they generally sided with the Pakistan People’s Party.

The applicant fled to Islamabad and, later to Muree.  He heard from family members that threats were made to his life whilst he was there.

In addition, the Tribunal held that the only way the applicant could achieve safety by relocation was if he effectively decided to live in hiding or in political exile.  “Requiring a political activist to live away from his home area in order to avoid persecution at the hands of his political opponents has never been considered as a proper application of the internal relocation principle: see e.g. Nolan J in R v Immigration Appeal Tribunal, ex p.Jonah 1985] Imm AR 7. And (since October 2006) such a requirement cannot be considered to be consistent with paragraph 339O of the Immigration Rules (Art 8 of the Qualification Directive). Indeed, the pitfalls of requiring a person to act contrary to his normal behaviour in order to avoid persecution have been further emphasised by the Supreme Court in HJ (Iran)” (see separate summary in this database).