Ministry stops action against registered Afghans

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) has directed authorities to refrain from harassing or arresting registered Afghan refugees holding proof of registration.

According to a notification issued by the ministry on Wednesday, the relevant departments and agencies have been directed to refrain from taking any action against registered Afghan refugees holding valid proof of registration (PoR).

The notification says that instructions had already been conveyed to all stakeholders and provincial governments that Afghan refugees with valid proof of registration and Afghan Citizen Card were allowed to reside temporarily in Pakistan and could only be repatriated voluntarily.

Over 0.6m Afghans came to Pakistan since Taliban takeover

It further stated that harassing registered Afghan refugees would adversely affect Pakistan’s goodwill image.

It is pertinent to mention here that the caretaker government had set a deadline of November 01 for illegal residents and migrants to leave the country otherwise will be deported.