Teenage brothers win seven-year fight to stay in Scotland

Two teenage brothers who faced being deported to Pakistan have been granted leave to remain in Scotland for another two-and-half years.

Somer Umeed Bakhsh, 16, and his brother Areeb, 14, have lived in Glasgow since their family fled Pakistan in 2012 after their father received death threats due to his Christian faith.

More than 94,000 people signed two online petitions urging the UK government not to deport the brothers to their birth country following a Church of Scotland campaign.

The brothers and their parents Maqsood and Parveen have now been granted “limited leave to remain” in the UK until February 2022.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had previously described the brothers as a “credit to Scotland”.

Somer, who this month achieved four As and a B in his Highers and hopes to become an astrophysicist, said: “We have gone through a tough time and I am really happy that we now have the freedom to stay in the country we love.

“I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders because the threat of deportation was always in the back of my mind.

“Scotland is my home, I have grown up here, all my friends are here and I feel like a Scottish boy.

“I am very thankful to everyone who has supported my family and the people who signed the petitions – we could not have got to this point without you.

“But I am disappointed that we will have to apply to the Home Office for an extension in just two-and-a-half years.”

Areeb, who is in fourth year and is studying seven National 5 exams, said: “It has been very stressful but Glasgow is such a lovely place, everyone is so welcoming and my friends at school have always been there for me.

“They will be really happy to hear the news and I am looking forward to a degree of normality.

“And hopefully life will be easier because we have been opened up to many more opportunities.”

Mr Umeed Bakhsh, a data analyst, and his wife, a midwife, will soon be granted work permits and have the opportunity to drive and take their sons on holidays abroad.

The Church of Scotland said the process to secure permanent leave to remain is likely to cost the family tens of thousands of pounds.