"Colombo says the influx of illegal immigrants in the past year has become a burden on the Indian Ocean island's resources and has potentially compromised state and regional security.
"The U.N. refugee agency complained that at least 88 Pakistanis have been sent home since August 1, after Sri Lankan authorities seized their passports and asylum-seeker certificates.
"'By sending these people back, the government of Sri Lanka is in breach of its obligations under international law concerning the principle of no-forced-returns," said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
"Sri Lankan authorities have denied violating any such laws, saying that the country "is not a signatory to the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention...'"