Pakistan determined to deport illegal immigrants after October 31

Illegal immigrants in Pakistan (SamaaTV)

By Nasir Aijaz
The AsiaN Representative

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has issued last warning to all the illegal immigrants, including hundreds of thousands of unregistered Afghan nationals, to leave the country voluntarily by end of current month or otherwise they would be rounded up and deported to their respective countries.

The final warning was issued by the Interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti and the provincial authorities on Thursday October 26, 2023.

Pakistan had announced the expulsion move earlier this month. The decision was taken during a meeting of the Apex Committee led by Interim Premier Anwaarul Haq Kakar. The meeting, attended by Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, among others, decided that movement across the border would be subject to passports and visas.

The decision was taken after Afghan nationals were found involved in heinous crimes, smuggling and attacks on government and the army, and suicide bombings. The Afghan nationals were reportedly involved in 14 out of 24 suicide bombings this year.

Addressing a news conference in Islamabad, Interior Minister Bugti said that Pakistan was determined to go ahead with a plan to repatriate all undocumented immigrants after Nov. 1.

“All the illegal immigrants have been identified. The state has a complete data,” said Bugti. “I want to appeal one more time that all the illegal immigrants should leave voluntarily by the deadline.”

He further informed that the government has done geo-fencing and identified areas where illegal immigrants are residing. “They are in villages, in metropolitan cities, in different small cities. The government has complete know-how about where they are,” he said.

Bugti categorically stated that law enforcement agencies will start an operation to round up aliens after the expiry of the deadline.

He also said action would be taken against anyone found involved in facilitating or hiding the immigrants.

Bugti said there would be no deadline extension. However he assured that no migrants living in Pakistan without authorization would be mistreated after their arrests.

“They will not be manhandled,” he said, adding that they would get food and medical care until their deportations.

They are allowed to take a maximum of 50,000 Pakistani rupees ($180) out of the country, he said.

Ministry of Interior had also announced earlier that those leaving voluntarily will be helped to leave Pakistan, such as preparation of their documents, permission to exchange currency and transportation.

Interior Minister said that Deportation Centers have been formed in the provinces as well as Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, where detained persons would be provided with medical facilities and food.

In Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province bordering Afghanistan, provincial government spokesman Jan Achakzai said on Thursday that three deportation centers are being set up, including one in Quetta.

Azam Khan, the caretaker chief minister for the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, also bordering Afghanistan, said that three more centers are being set up there.

He said that more than 60,000 Afghans have returned home since the crackdown was announced.

In Karachi, southern port city and capital of Sindh province, Brig. ® Haris Nawaz, the provincial Interim Interior Minister, said in a press conference on Thursday that all the provincial governments have finalized the arrangements to deport the aliens according to central government’s decision.

“No illegal immigrant will be allowed to stay in the country after October 31,” he said.

According to the provincial minister, some 200 thousands illegal immigrants have been identified, however the civil society organizations have rejected his claim saying that millions of aliens are settled in different cities of Sindh alone.

Certain recent local media reports had suggested some four million Computerized National Identity Cards (CNICs) were issued over the years to illegal immigrants by the state-run National Database & Registration Authority.

Interim Provincial Minister said on a question that the government has also decided to take stern action against those involved in issuing fake CNICs and other documents to the aliens.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office emphasized that Pakistan’s action against illegal “foreigners” on its soil is in accordance with the law of the land.

Addressing the weekly press briefing, FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that implementation of these laws is being carried out for the safety and security of the country.

Pakistan is in touch with the interim Afghan government regarding the return of illegal Afghans as the repatriation plan comes into effect on November 1, said Baloch.

“We explained to them that this policy doesn’t pertain to Afghans only and extends to all nationalities without valid documents to stay in Pakistan,” she added.

Pakistan received the largest influx of Afghan refugees since the Soviet invasion of Kabul in 1979.

The United Nations estimates that 3.7 million Afghans reside in Pakistan, while Pakistani authorities believe the number to be as high as 4.4 million. Of these, just 1.4 million Afghans, registered with Pakistan government and UN agencies, hold the required documentation enabling them to legally stay in Pakistan. Afghans had moved to Pakistan to escape war and conflicts.

Pakistan has denied targeting registered Afghans refugees. The 1.4 million Afghans who are registered refugees will not be affected by the crackdown.