Pakistan reveals plan to expel documented immigrants amid crackdown on undocumented foreigners
As a UNHCR team reportedly postponed its visit to district Khyber due to an alleged threat alert, Pakistan Government has announced its plan to deport registered Afghan immigrants as well after the forced repatriation of undocumented immigrants.
Pakistan’s decision to expel more than 1.5 million allegedly undocumented Afghan refugees and migrants has once again triggered tensions with the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
Since October 31 when a government deadline for the refugees to leave Pakistan or face detention ended, more than 200,000 Afghans have crossed into Afghanistan, officials said, amid stringent criticism by Kabul.
Pakistan says most Afghans have left voluntarily, a claim rejected by Kabul which has called the Pakistani action “unilateral” and “humiliating”.
Pakistan’s decision to expel illegal immigrants last month followed suicide bombings in the country this year that the government said involved Afghan nationals, though it did not provide any evidence.
At the centre of the deteriorating relations between the neighbouring nations is Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a banned armed group also referred to as the Pakistani Taliban for its ideological proximity to the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan.
Balochistan caretaker minister Jan Achakzai has recently announced a new policy to deport registered Afghan immigrants as well, claiming it is in reaction to militants using Afghanistan as a launching pad to instigate terrorism in the country, and that the policy is in line with the “state’s decision”.
On the other hand, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman demanded the formation of a commission to deal with the issue of refugees, saying “unilateral decisions do not serve Pakistan or Afghanistan”.
Meanwhile, talking to media in Islamabad, the JUI-F chief said Afghan refugees will have to ultimately leave Pakistan, but the “issue is being mishandled”. He further called for a bilateral commission to discuss and resolve the issue between both countries.
