One-month deadline for illegal foreign nationals to be announced soon

ISLAMABAD: The government will soon announce one-month deadline for all illegal foreign immigrants, including Afghans, to leave the country or face the music.

After the one-month deadline, a major countrywide crackdown will be launched by the law-enforcement agencies to identify and deport such illegal immigrants, the vast majority of whom are said to be Afghans.

Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti will announce the policy in a few days time, an informed source said. The decision at the highest level has already been taken not to let Pakistan become a haven for the illegal immigrants, many of whom are not only involved in criminal activities but are also part of the smuggling mafia, he added.

It is said the authorities have already arrested many illegal Afghan immigrants who were doing illegal dollar trade at the cost of the country’s economy. A large number of such illegal foreign nationals are also doing different businesses in several major cities including the federal capital. Surge in street crime in Islamabad is also linked with the influx of illegal Afghans.

There are said to be around 1.1 million Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan illegally. It is said as many as 400,000 Afghans entered Pakistan illegally since the return of Afghan Taliban to Afghanistan in August 2021. There are another 700,000 Afghans identified who have been living in the country illegally. Media reports suggest 1.1 million Afghan refugees neither possess any visa nor any valid documents allowing them to stay in the country. Most of these illegal refugees were involved in anti-state and criminal activities. Therefore, they would be sent back at the earliest, said a report, adding the Afghan Taliban government was also informed about Pakistan’s decision.

Islamabad has hosted millions of refugees for decades, and at one point five million Afghan refugees were residing in Pakistan. Some estimates suggest there are still close to four million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan. However, the count of individuals possessing valid refugee cards, as per official records, is considerably lower.