Islamabad, Aug 10 (IANS) As many as 140,468 Afghan nationals who were living illegally in Pakistan’s Punjab province have been deported to Afghanistan, local media reported on Monday.
The Foreign National Security Cell of the Home Department has been carrying out action as part of the ongoing campaign for the deportation of Afghan citizens. People illegally residing in Pakistan are being arrested and shifted to holding centres, where the documentation work is completed before their deportation to Afghanistan, Pakistan’s daily Dawn reported.
A total of 2.68 million Afghan nationals have been deported from Pakistan so far. Punjab home department’s spokesperson said that it was illegal for Afghan nationals to live in Pakistan without a valid visa. Authorities have been conducting checks in the residential areas and markets to find Afghans who were living illegally in Punjab. The spokesperson said that Afghan nationals living illegally in Pakistan were handed over to the Afghan authorities at the Torkham border, Dawn reported.
The development comes amid international agencies reporting an increase in the deportation of Afghan refugees from neighbouring nations. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) have repeatedly said that the return of Afghan refugees must be conducted in a safe and dignified manner and called for greater international support for returnees
Earlier on Sunday, Taliban Deputy Spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat shared a daily operational report from the High Commission for Addressing Returnees’ Issues, where he mentioned that 307 Afghan families, comprising 1,537 individuals, returned from Pakistan and Iran in a single day.
In a report shared on X, Fitrat detailed that 235 families, comprising 1,235 people, returned to Afghanistan through the Torkham crossing. As many as 25 families, comprising 141 individuals, returned to Afghanistan through the Spin Boldak crossing and a total of 39 families, comprising 129 individuals, returned to the country through the Silk Bridge crossing in Nimroz province.
According to the report, eight families, comprising 32 individuals, returned to Afghanistan through the Islam Qala crossing.
The report said that 310 families, comprising 1,964 individuals, were relocated to various provinces of Afghanistan. In the report, Fitrat stated that 294 families were provided financial assistance while 261 SIM cards were distributed to Afghan returnees.
On June 20, Amnesty International urged the international community to stop unlawful expulsion of Afghan refugees and called for protecting their needs as per international human rights law.
Afghan refugees face arbitrary arrests and family separations in host nations and face human rights violations when they return to Afghanistan, the rights group said.
“Millions of Afghan refugees are being expelled across the globe, and that number keeps climbing day by day. In host countries, they are facing arbitrary arrests and family separations; upon return, they are facing human rights violations amidst one of the most severe humanitarian crisis in the world,” Amnesty International said in a post on X.
“The unlawful expulsions of Afghan people must stop, and people with international protection needs must be safeguarded as per international human rights law,” it added.
–IANS
akl/rs
