Islamabad, April 19 (IANS) Pakistan announced that the April 30 deadline for Afghan refugees awaiting resettlement in a third country will not be extended. All the Afghan refugees will be deported from Pakistan if their host nations do not relocate them by the deadline, local media reported.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad on Friday, Pakistan’s Minister of State for Interior, Talal Chaudhry, emphasised that no illegal immigrant would be allowed to stay in the country beyond the deadline, and warned that those who are found ‘facilitating’ the illegal stay of Afghans by any means would face strict action.
He said that strict action would be taken against Pakistani citizens who rent out shops, homes, or hotel rooms to Afghan immigrants, or hire them for jobs.
“We have communicated clear instructions to all provinces. If anyone gives a shop, house, or any kind of space to an illegal foreigner, they will be held accountable under the law, ” Chaudhry added.
Earlier, the Pakistan government had set a deadline of March 31 for Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders to leave the country. The Minister shared that 84,869 Afghan nationals have been repatriated since April 1 as part of Pakistan’s deportation policy, Pakistan’s leading newspaper, The Express Tribune reported.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is leading a high-level delegation to Kabul on Saturday on a day-long visit as part of mutual efforts being made by both countries to ease ongoing tensions amid security issues and forced deportation of Afghan nationals from Pakistan.
Furthermore, the Afghan delegation led by Minister of Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi, engaged in discussions with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday in Islamabad.
The talks focussed on enhancing bilateral ties, mainly regarding the honourable return of Afghan refugees, Afghan state-run Bakhtar News Agency reported.
With the increasing wave of returning Afghan migrants from Pakistan, several migrants forcibly deported through the Torkham crossing recently said that they not only have no homes to live in, but they also do not own any land on which to build one.
“We ask that job opportunities will be created for us. We have no homes, no land. All our belongings are left outside. There are no jobs, and no one has created employment for us. But our most urgent need is shelter,” Afghan media outlet TOLO News reported, quoting Mohammad Nabi, a deported migrant from Pakistan.
Several deported Afghan migrants also report that Pakistani police treated them harshly, extorted money under various pretexts during the journey, and acted aggressively. The forcibly deported Afghan refugees said that Pakistani drivers exploited their vulnerability, charging excessive transportation fares.
Daad Mohammad, a 58-year-old resident of Kunar province, who had migrated to Pakistan 45 years ago, said that despite decades of work and settlement, he and his family were deported abruptly and empty-handed, in violation of migration principles.
“The Pakistani police raided my house, treated me harshly, and didn’t even give me a chance to take my belongings. Our motorcycles, cargo vehicle, and all our possessions were left behind. We barely had time to load the children into the vehicle and flee,” he recounted.
–IANS
int/scor/rs/rad
