Islamabad
The Government of Pakistan has initiated a major nationwide action against Afghan citizens. Under this, hundreds of ‘illegal foreigners’, including ‘Afghan Citizen Civil Card (ACC)’ holders, were arrested, and then sent to the camps to send them back to Afghanistan. Hundreds of Afghan citizens have been detained after the March 31, scheduled for voluntary withdrawal of Afghan citizens in Pakistan and has started the process of sending them back with their families.
Interestingly, the instructions issued to the security forces show that if any Afghan citizen is found involved in criminal activities, the whole family will have to face exile. The Taliban government in Kabul requested Islamabad to delay the reversion of Afghan citizens in Pakistan, but Islamabad is not in the mood to relax it. The Afghan government said, “It is noteworthy that Pakistan has announced a fresh action, stating that it would deport individuals without legal residence permits, while legitimate card holders would face uncertainty.”
Filip Candler, a representative of UNHCR in Pakistan, said, “Pakistan cannot be expected to take responsibility for hosting Afghan refugees indefinitely on his shoulders. There is a need for humanitarian aid, not only for short -term relief but also to support long -term development initiatives.”
The decision not to extend the deadline and initiate action was taken during the meeting between Pakistan’s internal minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. The government authorities had issued a strict warning that action would be taken against those who did not leave the country by 31 March.
According to the information, at least 43 camps have been set up to keep Afghan refugees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. Sources say that the officials will conduct raids and will detain the Afghans living illegally in the country, which will then be transferred to refugee camps. They will then be listed before being taken to the Landi Kotal area on the Tarkham Pak-Afghan border for repatriation.
Statistics suggest that there are at least 13,44,584 Afghan citizens in the country, of which at least 7,09,278 Afghan citizens live in KP, who have registration evidence (POR). Provincial data shows that Balochistan have at least 3,17,000 registered Afghans, 74,117 in Sindh, 1,96,000 in Punjab, 42,718 in the capital Islamabad and 4,448 Afghan refugees in other parts of the country.
