A Pakistani man convicted of drug dealing has avoided deportation from the UK after an immigration tribunal ruled that his mental health vulnerabilities and history as a high-achieving student outweighed the Home Office’s case for removal.
The tribunal decided that 22-year-old Muhammad Izhan, who received a 30-month prison sentence for his role in a “sophisticated” Class A and B drug operation, could remain in the country. Judges accepted that sending him back to Pakistan would likely worsen his mental health and increase the risk of him returning to drug use.
According to court findings, Izhan became involved in the drug network partly due to difficulties managing his ADHD, which had been identified during his school years.
Upper Tribunal Judge Luke Bulpitt rejected the Home Office’s appeal, citing several mental health diagnoses and evidence that Izhan had once been regarded as a “star pupil” who was active in school life, including representing his school in rugby.
Izhan moved to the UK at age seven in 2010 with his mother and brothers to join his father in East Anglia. Despite being suspended from school in 2015 for bringing a knife onto school grounds and having earlier cautions for shoplifting, a previous tribunal judge found that he remained engaged in school activities and had earned recognition for academic and sporting achievements.
Medical evidence presented by consultant psychiatrist Dr Arvin Gupta indicated that Izhan likely had ADHD and a cannabis-related behavioural disorder. Judge Bulpitt said these conditions, combined with PTSD and his lack of family awareness about his mental health and criminal history in Pakistan, would create “very significant obstacles” for reintegration if he were deported.
The Home Office had initially ordered Izhan’s removal after his conviction in March 2024. However, he won his first appeal before Judge Samina Iqbal, and the upper tribunal has now upheld that decision. The judge concluded that deporting him would trigger a “high likelihood of significant deterioration” in his mental health and increase the risk of further drug-related behaviour.
Recent figures show a sharp rise in asylum claims from Pakistani nationals, who now make up one in ten applications in the UK, surpassing those from Afghanistan, Iran and Eritrea.