Over 1500 Afghans deported on Sunday

WEB DESK: Over a thousand Afghan nationals were deported from Punjab and another 300 from Sindh, while over 5000 were moved to transit camps and holding centres across Punjab for processing, according to an article published by Dawn.

IG Police Punjab Waqar Nazeer told Dawn that after locating over 1300 Afghans from over 150 Afghan colonies, District Police Officers (DPO) transported them to 46 holding centres across province on the government’s instruction. They were then sent to Landi Kotal on designated buses and subsequently handed over to the local administration before being deported to Afghanistan.

Those who were deported were among a group of 100,000 that either carried Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) or did not have any legal document, according to an official. March 31 was the deadline announced by the government for ACC holders to leave Pakistan.

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The official added that the Afghan nationals not being deported are either those who have valid legal documents, or are refugees settled under the UNHCR mandate, meaning Pakistan must grant them legal protection.

Over 300 Afghan nationals, 116 of which were women and children, were also deported from Karachi on Saturday night. Originally, 409 ACC holders were taken to a holding point, however 102 with valid papers were returned to police stations.

The other 5,111 Afghan nationals that are currently in transit camps and holding centres will eventually be transported to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for repatriation after due verification, according to Nazeer. He added that all of them are medically examined at the holding centres before their repatriation.

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