Dealing with illegal immigrants as per international laws: FO

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Monday gave a terse response to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, as the deadline approaches for illegal immigrants to leave Pakistan, asserting that the government’s decision “was in exercise of Pakistan’s sovereign domestic laws, and compliant with applicable international laws and principles”.

“We have seen the press statement by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP) applies to all illegal foreigners residing in Pakistan, irrespective of their nationality and country of origin,” said the Foreign Office spokesperson.

She retreated that all foreign nationals legally residing or registered in Pakistan were beyond the purview of this plan. “The Government of Pakistan takes its commitments towards protection and safety needs of those in vulnerable situations with utmost seriousness,” said the statement pointing out that the record of the last 40 years proves that it was hosting “millions of the Afghan brothers and sisters spoke for itself”.

The FO spokesperson urged the international community to scale up collective efforts to address protracted refugee situations through advancing durable solutions as a matter of priority. “Pakistan will continue to work with our international partners to this end,” she said.