Refugee camp to be set up for Afghans, other foreigners illegally residing in capital

Islamabad : Receiving alerts from the intelligence agencies, the government has decided to set up a refugee camp especially for Afghan migrants illegally living in Islamabad to keep the miscreants and anti-Pakistan elements away from the society, the Interior Ministry sources said.

The sources said registration of foreigners and migrants, illegally living in the federal capital Islamabad, has been started on a war footing and the process will be completed in two days.

The district administration has started locating a suitable place for the establishment of the refugee camp to shift the illegal migrants, the interior ministry sources said.

The Interior Ministry has directed the relevant authorities to manage the registration of foreign job holders residing in Islamabad, tenants, and illegal Afghan refugees as the first priority.

An emergency meeting of the district administration and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police was held on Saturday to review the law and order situation of the capital city, the district administration and the police, adding that Chief Commissioner Islamabad, Aamer Ali Ahmed chaired the meeting, while, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad, Dr. Akbar Nasir, DIG (Operations) Sohail Zafar Chatha and other relevant officers attended the meeting.

Chief Commissioner Islamabad and IGP asked the concerned officials to start registration with the help of police, the district administration sources said adding the DIG (Operations) Sohail Zafar Chattha will supervise the registration process and he will be responsible to complete the registration process in two days.

The police authorities warned the hotel administration and house owners that they will have to cooperate with the administration otherwise they would be dealt with according to law. The hotel administration is directed to maintain complete data of the foreigners visiting Pakistan and provide the data to the local police station. The owners involved in providing their space without getting their data verified would not be spared, the administration maintained.

The Islamabad police bosses confirmed when contacted by this correspondent that the registration of illegal foreigners has been initiated which would be completed within two days. “The security of Islamabad will not be compromised,” the police boss concluded.