Document #1326053
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
Rawalpindi is a "district headquarters" within the province of Punjab (Government of Punjab 4 Mar. 2005a). Surrounded by the districts of Jhelum and Chakwal in the south, Attock district in the west, Abbotabad district of the North-West Frontier Province in the North and the province of Jammu and Kashmir in the east, Rawalpindi district is comprised of six tehsils (ibid. 4 Mar. 2005b), or divisions of land for administrative and taxation purposes (Encarta Dictionary n.d.). The tehsils are: Rawalpindi, Kahuta, Murree, Gujar Khan, Taxila and Kotli Sattain (Government of Punjab 4 Mar. 2005b).
References to the village of Dhary in Rawalpindi city proper could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, in correspondence to the Research Directorate, a legal assistant at the Islamabad-based office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) indicated that there is an urban village in Rawalpindi called Dehri (15 Mar. 2005). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
Only one reference to two separate locations called Parial in Punjab province could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate (Traveljournals.net n.d.). According to Traveljournals.net, a travel Website, both locations are "populated place[s]" (ibid.). However, the source does not specify whether these locations are situated in Rawalpindi city proper. According to the Islamabad-based legal assistant cited above, "Parial is not known, however, there is Parrian in Rawalpindi and [it] is [an] urban area" (UNHCR 15 Mar. 2005). Additional information on Parial or Parrian could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Encarta Dictionary. n.d. "Tehsil." http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_561539573/tehsil.html
[Accessed 15 Mar. 2005]
Government of the Punjab. 4 March 2005a.
"Punjab Districts." http://www.punjab.gov.pk/index.htm
[Accessed 15 Mar. 2005]
_____. 4 March 2005b. "Rawalpindi
District Profile." http://www.punjab.gov.pk/district/Rawalpindi/Rawalpindi.htm
[Accessed 15 Mar. 2005]
Traveljournals.net. n.d. "Locations in
Pakistan Beginning with P - Parial to Parla." http://www.traveljournals.net/explore/pakistan/locations/p/34.html
[Accessed 10 Mar. 2005]
United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR), Islamabad. 15 March 2005. Correspondence from a
Legal Assistant.
Additional Sources Consulted
Dialog.
Hammond Atlas of Canada and the World.
Lonely Planet: Pakistan.
Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit:
Pakistan.
MacMillan Centennial Atlas of the
World.
Oxford Atlas of the World.
Pakistan: A Country Study.
Pakistan Tourism Development
Corporation. "Pakistan Tourist Guide Map."
Pakistan Tourism Development
Corporation. "Rawalpindi, Islamabad Pakistan."
The Times Atlas of the World.
Unsuccessful attempts to contact the
Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation.
Unsuccessful attempts to contact two
Rawalpindi-based sources.
Internet sites, including:
Amnesty International (AI), BBC, Country Reports on Huamn
Rights Practices for 2004, Dawn, European Country of
Origin Information Network (ECOI), Freedom in the World
2004, Human Rights Watch (HRW), Integrated Regional
Information Networks (IRIN), PakTribune, World News
Connection (WNC).
Whether the villages of Dahry and Parial of Rawalpindi city proper are agricultural or urban villages (2004-2005) [PAK43426.E] (Response, French)