ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has launched a nationwide crackdown against illegal foreign nationals, including Afghans, following the expiration of a one-month ultimatum for voluntary repatriation.
In a historic move, the Interior Ministry has issued directives to all provinces to deport illegal foreigners under the Foreign Act of 1946. The caretaker government has also issued a stern warning of strict legal action against any Pakistanis found sheltering illegal foreign nationals.
According to the Interior Ministry, the repatriation plan applies to all foreigners residing unlawfully in Pakistan without any consideration for their country of origin.
Illegal Afghan Nationals Identified
The law enforcement agencies have identified illegal Afghan residents through mapping and geo-fencing. In Sindh, the identification process for 200,000 illegal foreigners has been completed.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, out of the 300,000 illegal Afghan citizens, those who do not leave voluntarily will be relocated to detention centers.
Punjab and Balochistan have also initiated operations to deport illegal Afghan residents, with their data being thoroughly screened.
As the deadline for undocumented immigrants, including Afghan refugees, to voluntarily return to their home countries has passed, thousands of Afghan refugees and migrants in Pakistan have rushed to the border to return home.
The government has announced that it will begin arresting undocumented Afghans and transferring them to new holding centers, from where they will be forcibly repatriated to Afghanistan.
This month, over 200,000 Afghan immigrants have voluntarily returned to their countries through the Torkham border crossing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Chaman crossing in Balochistan. Thousands of Afghan refugees are waiting in vehicles, lorries, and trucks, and their numbers continue to increase.
According to Pakistani officials, more than four million foreigners live in Pakistan, with the vast majority being Afghan nationals who sought refuge over the last four decades following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s. More recently, after the Taliban regained power in 2021, the Pakistani government estimates that between 600,000 to 800,000 Afghans migrated to Pakistan, with nearly 1.7 million of them being undocumented.
غیر قانونی مقیم غیر ملکیوں کے انخلاء کا سلسلہ شروع ہوگیا۔
64 جیل میں موجود غیر قانونی قیام کرنے والے افراد کو اسلام آباد پولیس ، ضلعی انتظامیہ ، ایف آئی اے، اور جیل حکام نے روانہ کیا۔
اپنے وطن واپس بھیجے جانے والوں کو اسلام آباد پولیس کی نگرانی میں روانہ کیا گیا۔ غیر قانونی… pic.twitter.com/p5yPkd9oNr
— Islamabad Police (@ICT_Police) November 1, 2023
