§ Mr. MaddenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Mr. Arshad Iqbal is to be issued with a visa by the post in Islamabad to join his wife in the United Kingdom; when Mr. Iqbal's appeal, No. TH/36030/87/6216, was upheld by the immigration appeal tribunal; and when the post was instructed to issue a visa to Mr. Iqbal.
§ Mr. Eggar[pursuant to the reply 25 April 1989, c. 463]: I am now replying in full rather than referring the case to the FCO correspondence unit, in the light of the circumstances of this case.
122WMr. Arshad's appeal was upheld by the immigration appeal tribunal on 9 December 1988, and a copy of the determination was sent by the Home Office to the entry clearance officer at Islamabad on 10 January 1989. Unfortunately, it appears that no covering letter was attached to the determination, which was therefore filed away to await instructions. The Home Office is now taking steps to ensure in future that appropriate instructions are attached to all determinations sent to entry clearance officers.
The hon. Member will, however, be pleased to know that instructions were sent to Her Majesty's embassy, Islamabad on 24 April directing it to issue an entry clearance to Mr. Iqbal. I should be grateful if the hon. Member could kindly convey my apologies to Mr. Iqbal's family for any distress or inconvenience caused by the delay in acting on the tribunal's determination.