'More than 400,000 illegal Afghans living in Karachi'

KARACHI: More than 400,000 illegal Afghan citizens are residing in Karachi with 225 — involved in street crimes — apprehended in recent times and are in jail facing criminal cases, revealed Karachi Additional Inspector General (AIG) Police Khadim Hussain Rind.

Speaking to Geo News on Friday, the AIG said that Afghan citizens have been found involved in various street crime activities especially those resulting in deaths.

Highlighting the performance of Karachi Police under his command, the AIG said that the new team has produced notable results with 20 criminals being killed in shootouts the last month along with 130 being injured and a further 600 arrested.

Addressing the issue of illegal Afghan citizens, Rind revealed that more than 400,000 illegal Afghans are residing in Karachi of which 1,547 were deported back to their homeland in the past month alone compared to 323 who were expelled last year.

Commenting on preparations for the expulsion of illegal foreigners, the AIG said that the Karachi Police in collaboration with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), is gearing up for a comprehensive one-window operation against aliens especially Afghan nationals who are illegally residing in the port city.

Data of Afghan citizens arrested from different areas of the metropolis will be cross-checked, and verified via the Nadra database, "The FIA and immigration records and those found illegally living in the country will be deported instead of being sent to jail."

It is pertinent to know that the caretaker government earlier this week had announced the November 1 deadline for the illegal "aliens" to leave the county voluntarily.

The decision came days after a deadly suicide blast in Balochistan’s Mastung, in which over 60 people lost their lives. In most of the recent terror incidents in Pakistan, Afghan nationals or soil was reportedly used.

Speaking on the occasion, the caretaker interior minister revealed that Afghan nationals were responsible for 14 of the 24 suicide bombings in the country this year.

Sindh forms committees to oversee expulsion of aliens

The Sindh Home Department Tuesday constituted committees at province, division, and district levels to oversee the expulsion of illegal foreigners living in the province.

"In order to oversee implementation of the process of repatriation of illegal foreigners, an Implementation Committee is hereby constituted," a notification issued by the department read.

The committees will include representatives of intelligence agencies including Inter-Services Intelligence (IS), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Military Intelligence (MI), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Sindh's Commissioner for Afghan refugees and Nadra.

They will gather data on unregistered refugees living in the province and will not only be responsible for taking measures to expel them but will also take steps to prevent their entry into the province.