Thread by @shanifanasser

In 2016, Imran packed his bags at a Pakistani orphanage. At four years old, he thought he would finally have a family.

But it never happened. This is the story of how Canada barred adoptions from Muslim countries — and used Shariah law to do it. (1/11)
cbc.ca/news/canada/ad…

I started reporting on this story in 2015 and joined forces with @CBCfifth to dig deeper this year. It all goes back to a 2013 Harper government decision to stop adoption from Pakistan.

Why? Hold onto your hats: Canada argued that Shariah law doesn’t allow for adoption (2/11)

A world away in Toronto, Sarah finds herself a mother without a child. She was on the verge of adopting Imran, when Canada closed the door.

Our investigation showed the extent to which officials were delving into the ins and outs of Islamic law to justify their position. (3/11)

Necessary background here: Pakistan has no explicit adoption law. But to provide a chance at a new life for the tens of thousands of orphaned or abandoned children, the courts can and do grant permission to take a child abroad for adoption — as they did for Imran. (4/11)

Emails from federal officials in 2013 show the push for the ban seemed to come from Canada's High Commission in Islamabad.

But we also obtained a memo marked “secret” on countering the terror threat to Canada. What could national security have to do with orphaned babies? (5/11)

The memo is almost entirely redacted. We do know federal officials hurried to put the ban in place.

But when we spoke to Pakistan's High Commission in Ottawa, they told us Canada's claim that Pakistan doesn't allow for adoptions is false, calling the ban “unjustified.” (6/11)

The Liberal has defended the ban. In 2017, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen’s office wrote to one parent fighting the policy: “The legal regime in Pakistan does not allow for or recognize the concept of adoption.” (7/11)

It didn't end there. Families adopting from many other Muslim countries were finding themselves blocked too.

That’s because Canada had quietly expanded the adoption ban to other countries where Shariah law is practiced, leaving family after family’s lives on hold. (8/11)

For years, Canadian families say they have been calling on the government to overturn the ban -- to no avail.

The immigration minister wouldn't talk to us. But after repeated requests for an interview, the government suddenly said it would review the policy. (9/11)

For Sarah, time is running out.

The orphanage wrote to her earlier this year, saying if Imran can't come to Canada, they might have to take other steps.

It's an impossible choice: She can't let him go, but doesn't know if she'll ever be able to bring him home. (10/11)

Meanwhile Sarah now finds herself a mother without a child -- questioning why Canada has been in the business of interpreting Shariah law to begin with.

"It's my own government that has prevented us from being together," she says. (11/11) cbc.ca/news/canada/ad…]

PS: If you'd like to read this story in Urdu (اردو میں یہ کہانی پڑھیں) we have a translation here: cbc.ca/news/canada/ad…