US to deport 107 Pak prisoners

ISLAMABAD: Washington has decided to deport 107 Pakistanis languishing in jails on the charges of terrorism, robbery, breaching of immigration laws, sexual harassments, selling of drugs and keeping false citizenship.

To this effect, top mandarins of the Interior Ministry in Pakistan and officials of Pakistan Embassy in Washington have completed dialogue with officials of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Department.

“In the United States of America, during the period from 1996 up to February 2018, some 107 Pakistanis got sentenced on various charges and in the list of criminals, one Pakistani -- Kashif Nauman, facing charges of terrorism activities, is being deported from the US. The identity verification of 55 Pakistanis is in process with our foreign ministry,” revealed senior officials and documents pertaining to the deportation of Pakistanis from US.

However, officials said that all the required arrangements have been finalised to bring back some 107 criminal Pakistanis through a chartered flight on April 23. According to the letters, written to each other by the US Department of Homeland Security and Foreign Office, Pakistan, copies of which are available with The News, the US officials held detailed parleys in the Pakistan Embassy in Washington with regard to expelling 107 Pakistanis and more importantly the US authorities also held talks with the top mandarins of Interior Ministry in Islamabad Secretariat.

In the Interior Ministry, the US officials also held talks with their Pakistani counterparts and finalised the arrangements for the deportation of the 107 Pakistanis. The documents also divulged that the identity verification of 55 Pakistanis imprisoned in the US has not yet completed. The Interior Ministry to his effect has started giving directives to Nadra offices and police stations belonging to the areas of the 107 Pakistanis who will be brought back to Islamabad from the US through charted plane. According to the US report some 35 Pakistanis are sentenced on violation of US immigration laws, 11 individuals are punished for sexual harassments and 18 are made captives for keeping, selling and smuggling drugs and six are held on charges of terrorism activities and keeping illegal weapons. On behalf of the US, the joint charted flight of Indian and Pakistani outlaws has been arranged.