EU Agency for Asylum

The EUAA has published a new Country Guidance on Pakistan. Based on the latest Country-of-Origin Information (COI), the guidance provides a joint assessment by EU+ countries of the international protection needs of Pakistani applicants and aims to enable greater convergence in asylum decisions.

Key points:
🔷 The guidance examines the international protection needs of the most common profiles in the caseload of EU+ countries, including persons perceived to be opposing the government, ethnic and religious minorities, women and children, and individuals involved in polio vaccination campaigns.
🔷 Critical journalists and media workers, individuals facing blasphemy charges, persons with diverse SOGIESC, as well as certain political and human rights activists face a heightened risk of persecution.
🔷 Due to confrontations between the Pakistani armed forces and insurgent groups, indiscriminate violence takes place in Balochistan and South and West Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, however, not at a high level.
🔷 Internal Protection Alternative in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi may be applicable depending on the individual circumstances of the applicant.

Endorsed by the Agency’s Management Board, the guidance is intended to support decision-makers in assessing asylum applications lodged by Pakistani nationals. This will bring the number of countries covered by EUAA Country Guidance to eight.