Not only Afghans, deadline to leave Pakistan for all illegal foreigners: Bugti

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti Wednesday clarified that the November 1 deadline was not limited to the Afghans only but also applied to all foreigners illegally residing in Pakistan. 

Speaking to the Senate Standing Committee on Interior, the security czar clarified the government had addressed the issue of expulsion of “all” illegal foreigners living in the country. However, the message was wrongly received as if the state wanted to repatriate the Afghan citizens only.

The caretaker government, earlier this month, had directed all aliens — including 1.73 million Afghan nationals — to leave the country following a series of terrorist attacks. Afghan nationals were found to be responsible for 14 of the 24 suicide bombings.

“Government’s message [to leave the country] is not limited to Afghans, [it is applicable] on all illegal foreigners living in the country,” Bugti said. The government is also deporting Baloch coming into the country from Iran, Bugti said while reassuring that those with refugee cards and visas are “our guests”.

“The issue is being given an ethnic angle but it’s not like that at all as we intend to expel all illegal foreigners,” he stressed. In a bid to tighten the noose around illegal foreigners, the caretaker government has set November 1 as deadline for the immigrants residing in the country unlawfully, warning that action will be taken against them after the time limit.

The decision was taken in an apex committee meeting on the National Action Plan (NAP) on October 3 after a deadly suicide blast in Balochistan’s Mastung, in which over 60 people lost their lives. In most of the recent terror incidents in Pakistan, Afghan nationals or soil was reportedly used.

According to a statistical report released by the independent think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), at least 271 militant attacks took place during the first half of 2023, resulting in the loss of 389 lives and injuries to 656 individuals. Terror activities in the country soared by 79% during the period.

Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghan refugees since the Soviet Union’s invasion in 1979.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) data, approximately 1.33 million registered refugees hold Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, and 840,000 possess Afghan citizenship cards.