Pakistan to start expelling undocumented immigrants on Thursday
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Afghan refugees preparing to leave Nowshera, Pakistan, on Oct 30.
PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan will start rounding up and expelling undocumented immigrants, including hundreds of thousands of people from neighbouring Afghanistan, on Thursday, the caretaker government’s Interior Minister said.
Islamabad announced the plan in October,
Kabul dismissed the accusations and rights groups protested, asking Pakistan to reconsider.
“Only two days are left for a voluntary return,” said Mr Sarfraz Bugti in a video statement on Tuesday.
The operation would be “lengthy and gradual”, he added, without going into details.
“We are not deporting any refugees. Only those who are completely illegal will leave Pakistan,” he said.
Pakistan is home to more than four million Afghan migrants and refugees, about 1.7 million of them undocumented, according to the Interior Ministry.
Islamabad has said that Afghans were involved in 14 suicide attacks in 2023, and has accused militant groups operating in its territory of training fighters over the border.
Mr Bugti said that those who leave voluntarily will be assisted by the government at temporary centres.
“We will try to provide them with food and health facilities for two to three days,” he added.
Western embassies and the United Nations have urged Pakistan to identify and protect Afghans at risk of persecution at home.
“Amnesty International strongly reiterates its call to the government of Pakistan to immediately reverse its decision to forcibly deport unregistered Afghan refugees ahead of the deadline set for tomorrow,” it said in a statement.
It added that Pakistan must meet its international legal obligations and stop the harassment of Afghan refugees and crackdown against them.
“Amnesty International is also calling on the international community to financially support Pakistan for hosting Afghan refugees, and to share the responsibility to provide protection to those fleeing persecution in Afghanistan,” the statement added.
Amnesty International said lives and rights are at stake due to “the collective failure of the Pakistan government and the international community to share the responsibility for their protection”, stressing the risks for women, journalists, human rights defenders, protesters, artists, and former government officials and security personnel. REUTERS
