450 Afghan refugees in Nowshera hold Pak NIC

NOWSHERA: A top police official has said that he has sent a list of some 900 Afghan refugees to the Cantonment Board and other departments concerned as half of them have acquired Pakistan’s national identity cards (NIC).

“I have asked the officials concerned to take action against these Afghan refugees as they posed serious threat to the area,” District Police Officer Wahid Mehmood told reporters here.

The DPO said that three suicide bombings had so far taken place in the limits of the Nowshera Cantonment area and another suicide bomber was caught before he could blow himself up.

He said that evidence pointed towards the involvement of Afghan refugees residing in the Cantonment area in those terror attacks.

The district police in collaboration with intelligence agencies conducted a survey to enlist all Afghan refugees, including residents and traders, in the Cantonment area, he said.

The DPO added that the survey report has been forwarded to the cantonment executive officer and other authorities concerned to devise a plan for the eviction of Afghan refugees from such a sensitive area.

The police official said it was strange that 450 Afghan refugees in the area had acquired Pakistani identity cards and taken part in last year’s local government elections.

He vowed to take action against the officials of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) who helped the Afghan refugees to acquire Pakistani national identity cards.