Over one lakh Afghan nationals left Pakistan since September 17: Officials

Islamabad [Pakistan], November 7 (ANI): More than 6,500 Afghanistan nationals left Pakistan through the Torkham border on Sunday, taking the number of repatriated Afghans to more than 174,350, Pakistan-based Dawn reported citing border officials.

Afghan nationals started leaving Pakistan after the government gave a deadline to all unregistered foreign nationals to leave Pakistan by October 31, after which action will be taken against them as per law.

Officials said 174,358 Afghan nationals have departed for Afghanistan since September 17. According to officials, voluntary repatriation is still underway; however, the number continues to decline with each passing day.

“There was a huge number of illegal immigrants at the border crossing soon after the deadline expired. It is now coming down,” Dawn quoted an official involved in processing the voluntary repatriation of Afghan nationals as saying.

As many as 6,584 Afghans, including women and children, left Pakistan on Sunday, according to official data, Dawn reported. On Saturday, 209 deportees from various prisons across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, along with 46,936 men, 35,507 women and 85,331 children were sent back to Afghanistan.

On November 3, 148 deportees along with 44,718 men, 33,699 women and 82,221 children were repatriated. Furthermore, 24 deportees, including 40,899 men, 30,399 women and 76,675 were sent back on November 2, according to Dawn report.

On November 1, around 7,195 families, which comprised 34,639 men, 25,710 women, and 68,280 children, besides 115 deportees, were sent back from Pakistan, Dawn reported.

In addition to voluntary repatriation, Afghan nationals imprisoned for involvement in petty crimes were also being deported, Dawn reported citing official documents. More than 500 prisoners from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Islamabad were deported between November 1-4.

According to official numbers, 194 prisoners were being moved from different regions of Punjab to the Torkham border crossing for repatriation. On Saturday, around 700 Afghan nationals returned through the Chaman border, Pakistan caretaker Information Minister Jan Achakzai said.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Achakzai said more than 54,000 Afghans have returned to their homeland so far. Officials have assured Afghan families that the government will bear all expenses for repatriation to convince them to leave Pakistan.

Some illegal Afghan nationals in Nowshera were ready to go back. However, they were unable to do so due to a lack of resources, Dawn reported citing sources.

According to sources, the district administration and police have met with the families and convinced them that the government would bear all the expenses for their repatriation. As many as 21 families were moved to the holding areas established in the district in 15 vehicles. The district administration paid rent for the vehicles.

Political leaders and social activists have also criticised the Pakistan government’s actions. Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai has called the repatriation of Afghan refugees a “matter of international humanitarian concern”.

Speaking at a press conference along with party leaders on Saturday, he called Pakistan government’s policy a violation of international conventions and Pakistan’s naturalisation laws. He said that the law enforcement agencies had apprehended Pakhtuns, hailing from Pakistan, in various cities during the crackdown on Afghan refugees.

He raised concerns over blanket restrictions on cross-border movement. He said that the action would create “significant discontent” among Pakhtuns, especially those living near the border.