Islamabad [Pakistan], April 12 : As many as 5,236 Afghan citizens were repatriated through the Torkham border crossing from Pakistan on Thursday, Geo News reported, citing immigration authorities.
Of those repatriated, 3,865 Afghan nationals voluntarily reached Landi Kotal transit camp, according to the officials. In addition, 107 Afghan nationals apprehended in Punjab were taken to Torkham for deportation.
Furthermore, 295 Afghan nationals were deported from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, according to authorities. Amid the ongoing drive in Pakistan, Afghan Citizen Card holders are also being sent back to Afghanistan. Pakistan's Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said on Thursday that Afghan nationals were being repatriated in a dignified manner.
While addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Chaudhry said that transit points were being created in all the provinces of Pakistan to facilitate Afghan citizens and added that a helpline was set up for the people of Afghanistan, Geo News reported.
He said that the repatriation of illegal citizens from abroad, including Afghan Citizen Card holders, will continue with no extension to the deadline that expired in March. So far, 857,157 illegal foreign nationals and Afghan Citizen Card holders have been repatriated to their respective nations, according to him.
Notably, the Pakistani government had given them a deadline to leave the country by March 31. Chaudhry said that the deadline had expired and would not be extended.
The minister said, "One-document regime will be fully implemented, requiring valid visas and passports to enter Pakistan." He said Afghan nationals who are being repatriated can visit, work and reside in Pakistan under the one-document regime policy if they have valid passports and visas.
Talal Chaudhry recalled that the policy of repatriating illegal foreign nationals has been in effect since October 2023. He stated that repatriation will be completed in phases. Under the first phase, Pakistan sent back illegal foreign nationals without legal documents to their countries.
In the second phase, Pakistan is repatriating Afghan Citizen cardholders to their homeland, while in the third phase, Afghan citizens holding Proof of Registration cards will be sent back to their countries, Geo News reported.
He said that Pakistan made this decision after hosting millions of Afghan nationals for decades. Talal Chaudhry said that the decision was taken considering current ground realities. He said that it has been observed that Afghan nationals have been engaged in narcotics trade and terrorism-related activities in Pakistan.
He further said that revenue generated through narcotics is being used for funding terrorist and criminal activities. Speaking about the figure of registered Afghan nationals, he said that there were 815,247 Afghans registered as Citizen Card holders while 1,469,522 were registered under the Proof of Registration programme.
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