Islamabad:
After the expiration of a deadline for their voluntary return to Afghanistan, the authorities in Pakistan moved Thursday in action and arrested 60 illegal Afghan migrants from different areas of Rawalpindi and Islamabad during a research operation.
According to sources, the operation was carried out by the police in collaboration with secret agencies based on warnings.
In Islamabad, the operation was carried out in the regions of Tarnol, Barakahu, Ghauri and Mirabad, hence 22 Afghan nationals were gathered. Thirty-eight Afghans were detained during the operation in the colony of Fauji de Rawalpindi and its adjacent areas.
All the people were then moved to a temporary camp in the Haji camp region.
After their biometric and their registration at the camp, these people will be transferred to the Landi Kotal region in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) from where they will be deported to Afghanistan by the crossing of the Torkham border.
Pakistan had set a deadline of March 31 for all illegal residents, including the holder of the Afghan citizenship card (ACC), to return voluntarily to their country of origin.
However, with the deadline now passed, the government has reported the start of forced moves and legal measures against those who still live in the country without appropriate documentation.
According to official data, a total of 886,242 undocumented Afghan nationals left Pakistan on April 1, the repatriations continuing.
The authorities warned against strict legal action against those who have not left the deadline, strengthening the government’s commitment to apply immigration laws.
There are 43 camps for Afghan refugees in the KP. The number of Afghan nationals in Pakistan with proof registration cards (POR) is 1,344,584. In the KP, the total number of registered Afghan refugees is 709,278, including 344,908 resident in camps.
The number of Afghan refugees holding ACC is 307,647. Since 2013, a total of 465,000 Afghan refugees have returned via the Torkham border.
In Balutchistan, there are 317,000 registered Afghan refugees; In Punjab, there are 196,000 refugees; in Sindh 74,117; Islamabad 42,718, and in cashmere of Azad, there are 4,448 Afghan refugees registered.
The Afghan temporary government under the Taliban called Islamabad on Tuesday not starting the deportation of Afghan nationals.
“In particular, Pakistan has announced a renewed repression, declaring that it would make individuals without legal residence permit, even if valid card holders are faced with uncertainty,” said a statement from the Afghan government on April 1, according to the official Afghan Bakhtar news agency.
The mass expulsion reader launched last year, is part of Pakistan’s wider strategy to regulate undocumented migration and respond to growing security problems.
On Wednesday, the Minister of the Interior Mohin Raza Naqvi called Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and informed him of progress concerning the process of repatriation of Afghan nationals.
