A/HRC/13/40/Add.1 I. India 1. Urgent appeal sent on 26 September 2007 jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (a) Allegations transmitted to the Government 100. The Special Rapporteurs brought to the attention of the Government information they had received regarding the following 65 Pakistani members of the Mehdi Foundation International who are detained in Central Jail Tihar, New Delhi, India: Mr. Sabir Ali, Mr. Iqbal Shahi, Ms. Anisa Abdul Jabbar, Mr. Muhammad Allauddin Syed, Ms. Zill Gohar, Mr. Asad Gohar, Mr. Muhammad Ashfaque, Ms. Shaista Gohar, Mr. Ayoub Gohar, Mr. Muhammad Irshad, Mr. Muhammad Sajjad Babar, Ms. Shabana Gohar, Mr. Zaheer-ud-din Bukhari, Mr. Muhammad Faheem Jaffar, Ms. Rozina Faheem, Mr. Farooq Azam, Mr. Muhammad Khalid, Mr. Sarfaraz Hussain, Mr. Muhammad Fiaz, Mr. Muhammad Furqan Uddin Syed, Mr. Muhammad Yasir, Mr. Shehzaib Gohar, Ms. Gulnaz, Ms. Samreen Shahzadi, Mr. Muhammad Ikhlaq, Ms. Kulsoom Khan, Mr. Imran Saeed, Ms. Zakia Imran, Mr. Imran Pasha, Mr. Muhammad Maqsood, Mr. Irshad Ali, Ms. Rakhshanda Asim Syeda, Mr. Javaid Iqbal, Ms. Qazmi Begum, Mr. Muhammad Muzammil, Mr. Shahzad Mukhtar, Mr. Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, Mr. Mansoor Khan, Ms. Bushra Mansoor, Ms. Misbah Nisa, Ms. Ashraf Nisa, Mr. Moinud-din Ahmed, Ms. Noreen Shahzadi, Mr. Abdul Rashid, Ms. Maqsooda Bibi, Ms. Sana Riaz, Mr. Hassan AlGohar, Mr. Muhammad Shafi, Ms. Safia Shafi, Mr. Tanveer Younus, Mr. Asim Ilyas, Mr. Tahir Rasheed, Mr. Usman Rashid, Mr. Abdul Waheed, Ms. Sajida Waheed, Ms. Farah Naz Gohar, Mr. Waqas Ahmed Gohar, Ms. Samira Wasim, Mr. Muhammad Wasim, Mr. Aurangzeb, Ms. Qamar Parveen, Mr. Akhtar Ali Ansari, Ms. Abhaya Gohar, Ms. Mary Gohar, Mr. Amir Gohar. Summaries of this communication as well as observations of the Special Rapporteur are already reproduced in A/HRC/7/10/Add.1, paras. 100-104. (b) Response from the Government dated 12 February 2009 101. By letter dated 12 February 2009, the Government of India informed the Special Rapporteurs that a decision had been taken, after due consideration, to deport 67 Pakistani nationals at the earliest. The decision was taken after extensive consultations during which no well-founded evidence was discovered that could suggest any systemic persecution of these Pakistani nationals in Pakistan. No major internationally-recognized human rights organizations had drawn attention to any systemic persecution of Mehdi Foundation International of Pakistan. As per existing bilateral Protocol on Consular Access signed between India and Pakistan, consular access was provided to all these 67 Pakistani nationals during which the Pakistani High Commission of Delhi confirmed the nationalities of the 67 nationals and provided them travel documents. Even though necessary arrangements had been made to release and repatriate these Pakistani nationals on 18 November 2008, they could not be repatriated to Pakistan on that date due to a stay granted by the High Court of Delhi on their deportation. The Government indicated that the matter was sub judice. (c) Observations of the Special Rapporteur 102. The Special Rapporteur is grateful that the Government of India replied to the communication of 26 September 2007. She would like to take the opportunity to refer to her reports to the General Assembly, in which she dealt with the vulnerable situation of refugees and asylum-seekers (see A/62/280, paras. 38-63; and A/64/159, paras. 22-24 and 67). 28