QUETTA: Pakistan has opened three new border crossings aimed at facilitating and expediting the deportation of illegal immigrants, the majority of whom are Afghans, residing illegally in the country, Arab News reported.
The move comes as nearly 300,000 Afghans have voluntarily left Pakistan in recent weeks, responding to the government’s order to depart or face deportation.
Pakistan had ordered all the undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country voluntarily by October 31 or face arrest and deportation.
The majority of those illegal foreign immigrants are Afghans. The new border facilities, located in the southwestern Baluchistan province, have increased the total number of crossings used for deportation to five, according to Jan Achakzai, the caretaker provincial information minister.
Approximately 15,000 Afghans are now crossing the border daily from Pakistan. The strengthened enforcement has led to the arrest of over 1,500 Afghans without valid documents, Achakzai said.
