Countrywide crackdown on illegal immigrants under way

ISLAMABAD/ PESHAWAR/LAHORE: The authorities have launched a countrywide crackdown on the foreigners, especially Afghans, living illegally in Pakistan after the expiry of October 31 deadline set for their voluntary repatriation, the interior ministry sources said.

The first cluster of 64 Afghan nationals detained at the Central Jail Rawalpindi were shifted to the holding centre at Haji Camp from where they were handed over to the deputy commissioner Islamabad. They were taken to the Torkham border by two passenger buses and handed over to the Afghan authorities, the interior ministry said.

The sources said 49 holding centres had been set up countrywide to keep the illegal aliens before their repatriation.

The mosque administrations are also warning the illegal aliens through loudspeakers to leave Pakistan voluntarily.

In Rawalpindi, over 150 illegal aliens were shifted to the holding centre in Rawat from where they would be transported to their countries, sources in the Punjab police said.

Punjab IG Usman Anwar said the plan for the repatriation of illegal residents has been finalised and the provincial police will implement the federal government directives in this regard. He said detained undocumented foreigners will be kept at holding centres before and will be expelled from the province after fulfilling legal formalities.

He said providing transport, food and other arrangements will be the responsibility of district administration.

In a video statement, he said that all teams deputed to evacuate the foreign nationals will ensure observance of human rights. Dr. Usman Anwar said 2.5 million cameras have been mapped inside Punjab and the two-lakh strong police is fully prepared for the evacuation of foreign nationals as directed by the federal government, adding the districts have been assigned different dates for evacuation process under the government policy. On October 31, 21,536 Afghans left for their country out of which 7,292 were men, 5,280 women and 8,964 children, the interior ministry said.

So far, 146,017 Afghan refugees have been repatriated, the ministry maintained.

Meanwhile, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) conducted a search operation along with sensitive agencies in different areas of Islamabad, including Bhara Kahu, Tarnol, Mehr Abadian, Golra, Alipur Farash, Chattha Bakhtawar, Shams Colony, Charah Road and the vicinities located along sides Lehtrar Road.

During the operation, 800 Afghan nationals were arrested; however, 400 Afghans were released on showing the proof of residence, while 375 Afghan nationals did not have document of residency and 25 Afghan nationals had no verified documents. Those have no documents at all or having no verified documents were arrested. It has also been decided to deport 375 Afghans who were arrested for their involvement in criminal activities. They would be repatriated within a couple of days.

The interior ministry sources said according to an intelligence agency’s report, settlements located at different entry points to Islamabad would also be checked, as the security agencies claimed that a large number of illegal Afghan refugees were residing in the isolated areas.

Different teams of law-enforcement agencies, comprising police, Rangers and CTD official, have been constituted to conduct raids on the marked points.

The interior ministry indicates that the illegal aliens under investigation and convicted of minor crimes would be deported, while the aliens involved in heinous crimes would not be repatriated.

Over 200,000 illegal aliens have been marked in Sindh and over 300,000 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and they would be shifted to the holding centres.

Our Peshawar bureau adds: The Afghan government Wednesday thanked Pakistan and other countries for hosting the Afghan refugees for more than 40 years and urged them not to deport them forcibly without preparation.

In a statement, the Taliban said for the past 45 years, Afghans had been facing many problems and migrations due to invasions and war in different countries. This situation has been imposed on Afghans and our nation has been forced to do so, they added.

“We would like to thank all the countries that have given Afghans a place in their homeland in the last 40 years; now, once again, we call on them not to forcefully deport Afghans without preparation; rather, give them enough time and the countries should exhibit tolerance in terms of good neighbourhood, Islamic brotherhood and human affection,” they said.

The Taliban said the Afghans neither created security problems for the countries where they had been living, nor involved themselves in instability. “We want the neighbouring countries to treat the Afghan refugees well, keeping in mind the principles of Islamic brotherhood. From the countries that Afghans return to their homeland as a result of forced deportation, the goods, money and other assets that they are carrying out with them are their personal property and right, and no one has the right to turn them away or impose unfair and unjust conditions on them,” the Taliban government insisted.

“As the Islamic Emirate is in place and the government has ensured security across the country and maintained an atmosphere of brotherhood among the Afghans, the officials of the Islamic Emirate have been instructed to help the returnees with full sincerity and accuracy as well as utilise every possible mean to serve them in a proper way,” they said in a statement. “Those Afghans who have left the country due to political concerns, we assure them to return and live peacefully in their country. May Allah grant both the Islamic Emirate officials and the public the opportunity to provide facilities and services for the Afghan returnees,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, a delegation of senior officials from the Islamic Emirate has arrived at the Torkham port to assess and address the challenges faced by the Afghan returnees from Pakistan. The delegation is led by Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs Maulvi Abdul Salam Hanafi.

Geo reports: Meanwhile, intelligence agencies have unearthed a plan by the enemy forces to sabotage the repatriation of Afghan refugees living illegally in Pakistan and increase tension between the two countries.

According to the sources, nefarious elements had been tasked with snapping and filming forceful repatriation of refugees, especially women and children, for use by the international media to defame and incriminate Pakistan.

Sources said it had also been planned to provoke violent demonstrations in Spin Boldak and Chaman and firing by the Afghan nationals on the Pakistani side of crossing point.

“In the first phase of the operation, approximately 5,000 undocumented foreigners have been shifted to 49 holding centres of the country to transport them to their native countries,” the ministry sources said.