We, a young Pakistani student couple fell in love and married in a civil registry marriage whilst in the UK without the permission of our parents, who object to our union, as we are from different castes, and I (the husband) am also regarded as an outsider, as I have lived outside Pakistan most of my life, and have Indian heritage.

We now have a baby boy, now nearly 2 and a half, who would be perceived to be illegitimate by Pakistani society, and both of us have depression. We are thus a vulnerable family, and have some good parenting support from friends here. This includes a lovely friend, who is our son’s godparent.

We have been living in this country for almost 8 years.

In our student years, we studied and worked legally, contributing towards tax and national insurance. Even though there was pressure from our families, especially on my wife to marry someone of parental choice, we just could not give up our love for each other. So we took the big and risky step of deciding to be together always. We knew that we could not escape the anger and hostility of our families, and that Pakistani society would not accept us, so we applied for asylum. This has been repeatedly rejected on the basis that we can relocate to a safe part of Pakistan, and that the families have not come after us yet. There is no such safe place, and extended families do lie in wait, and sometimes punish after years.

An experienced acknowledged country expert had confirmed in a Report ignored by the Home Office that there is a high level of risk to us and our child and that relocation is not an option for our survival.

The Home Office had agreed to reconsider our claim but refused again, and we are now appealing to the Upper Tribunal, and need your support.

Our marriage has been of our own choice, not arranged by our parents or family members. In our families, we are often made to marry cousins and / or relatives, because of culture, and traditional practices.

We fear that if we are forced to go to Pakistan, we may risk our lives. Killing in the name of honour is a norm in Pakistan, where the majority of such cases go unreported and the authorities often support the murderers.

The husband comes from a minority in Pakistan and is very vocal in his anti - government views. He is also very active on social media. We are arguing that being part of a minority and being vocal against Pakistan government will also bring danger to our lives, as speaking against radical Islam, extremism, terrorism, speaking about treatment of religious minorities, ethnic minorities by government and the establishment in Pakistan is not accepted.  Any where in Pakistan angry groups can gather around you, frame you with so called blasphemy and can even kill you just because you said something on social media.

Please help us to challenge the latest Refusal by raising enough funds to launch an appeal.

In this holy month of Ramzaan please help us and remember us in your prayers. We are a family of three who do not want to live apart or sacrifice the loving family we have now.

We all human beings are the creation of God

May God bless us all

Thank you for your time