Recently, a man named Mohammed Zulfiqar challenged the Home Ministry’s decision to evict him from the United Kingdom, on the basis that the deportation was a breach of his basic human rights. The kicker: Mohammed Zulfiqar is an illegal immigrant who gained entry into the United Kingdom on a forged passport. When entering United Kingdom, he paid a shady individual a sum to the tune of fifteen thousand pounds. In exchange for this, he received forged documents allowing him to enter the United Kingdom. Since this was way back in 2002, Zulfiqar had ample time and integrated well into the British society.

Having lived here illegally for eleven years, he is in a relationship with a woman and has five children with her. He got arrested while applying for a job. His bad luck, he picked an employer who did a thorough background check on him and discovered that his passport was a stolen one and his national insurance number belonged to a dead man. When the case was brought to the notice of the authorities, they naturally took action to deport him back to his native country, Pakistan. He has challenged his deportation stating that his partner is plagued with multiple health problems and is thus unable to care for their five children. All his children are under six years of age, and hence, need constant supervision. Thus, if he is deported, not only will his children and partner suffer, but he will be denied his basic human right to have a family life.

An extensive search of his home revealed a fake Pakistani passport. The passport contained a number of forged entries including one that allowed him to stay in the United Kingdom for as long as he wanted. The judge at the trial remarked on the excellent nature of the forgery and conveyed that only the very best experts could determine its forged nature and that too, only on very close and minute inspection of the passport. The only tell of the sophisticated forgery were a few hardly discernible spelling mistakes integrated in the small print.

Naturally, this law leaves the United Kingdom open to many security threats. Forged documents of such high quality are typically used by members of terrorist factions and other anti – social elements. The real shocker is that there is legal precedent for cases like Mohammed Zulfiqar’s. What’s more disturbing is that the judge, bound by the law, was forced to rule in favor of the illegal immigrants. Some of the real disturbing cases where this was allowed include an Algerian terror suspect, a Nigerian rapist and extremely violent rioters. Though Mohammed Zulfiqar does not have any ties to a terrorist organization and is not a criminal, the fact remains that he is an illegal immigrant. If nothing else, these cases shed light on a terrifying weakness in the United Kingdom’s otherwise stringent border policies. Exploitation of the human rights clause to escape deportation can inspire other malignant individuals to enter Britain and literally cause extreme mayhem. Some action must be taken. All eyes are on the Home Ministry to see how they respond.