ISLAMABAD: The Sindh Home Department on Tuesday constituted committees at the province, division, and district levels to oversee the expulsion of illegal immigrants living in the province.
A notification issued by the department read that in order to oversee the implementation of the process of repatriation of illegal immigrants, an Implementation Committee is constituted.
The committees will include representatives of intelligence agencies including Inter-Services Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, Military Intelligence, Federal Investigation Agency, National Database and Registration Authority, and Sindh’s Commissioner for Afghan Refugees.
They will gather data on unregistered immigrants residing in the province and will not only be responsible for taking steps to expel them but will also take measures to prevent their entry into the province.
The province and division-level committees would be led by the additional chief secretary and concerned divisional commissioner respectively, whereas district-level committees would be chaired by concerned deputy commissioners.
Earlier in the day, Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said that the Apex Committee meeting set 1 November as the deadline for the illegal “aliens” to leave Pakistan voluntarily.
The decision came days after a deadly suicide attack in Balochistan’s Mastung, in which more than sixty people lost their lives. In most of the recent terror attacks in Pakistan, Afghan nationals or soil was reportedly used.
Speaking on the occasion, Bugti revealed that Afghan nationals were responsible for fourteen of the twenty-four suicide bombings in the country this year.
Plan for Immigrants’ Repatriation
A day earlier federal government, citing security risks, announced its decision to expel 1.1 million immigrants illegally living in Pakistan.
The government will evict illegal immigrants in the first phase along with those who do not renew their visas.
In the second and third phases, those residing in Pakistan with Afghan citizenship and possessing proof of residence cards would be deported respectively.
