Pakistan’s action continues on Afghan refugees, 8 thousand people were expelled from the country in 9 days – Pakistan Deports Over 8,000 Afghan Refugees NTC
Pakistan has sent more than 8,000 Afghan refugees back to Afghanistan as part of the campaign to expel illegal Afghan citizens across the country. This action was initiated when the voluntary withdrawal deadline of Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders ended on 31 March.
According to government sources, from April 1, about 8,115 Afghan citizens have been sent to their country via Torkham border. It was told that these people were mainly arrested from various regions of Punjab and after verification they were handed over to Afghan officials.
According to the news agency PTI, this campaign is being done most actively in Punjab province, where hundreds of Afghan citizens are being arrested every day and they are being sent to special centers from where they are being sent back to Afghanistan.
The Punjab government has announced that they have arrested more than 5,000 Afghan citizens from different parts of the province. According to an official, security agencies have identified 1 lakh illegal Afghans in Punjab, which will be expelled soon. However, the Afghans holding valid documents will not be removed.
There have been reports of arrest of hundreds of Afghan citizens from Sindh province as well.
This is the second phase of the expulsion campaign, which is especially targeting the ACC holders. Earlier in September 2023, the first phase started, under which foreign nationals living illegally were evacuated.
In the first phase, 70,494 Afghan families (about 4,69,159 persons) returned to their country through the Torkham border. However, more than 8 lakh Afghan citizens left Pakistan from various border points.
Meanwhile, police campaign is going on across the country, in which those Afghan citizens who do not have POR (Proof of Residence) cards or whose ACC card validity is abolished.
It is noteworthy that a large number of Afghan citizens came to Pakistan due to the deteriorating security situation after the Soviet Union’s attack on Afghanistan in the 1980s.
