Legal Identity, Statelessness & Refugees

Musawi addresses exclusionary laws and practices that affect citizenship, legal identity, and rights of stateless and refugee communities. 

Pakistan is home to over 3 million stateless individuals and an estimated 2.8 million Afghan refugees, many of whom lack Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs), barring them from accessing healthcare, education, employment and legal protection. Discriminatory provisions like Section 10 of the Citizenship Act 1951 prevent Pakistani women from passing nationality to foreign spouses, reinforcing gender inequality in citizenship rights. Communities such as unregistered Bengali and Rohingya, face systemic harassment, exclusion, and threats of deportation, while inherited statelessness continues across generations. Musawi advocates for inclusive citizenship laws, gender-equal nationality rights, and legal identity frameworks that fulfill both constitutional guarantees and international obligations.