Over 200 Afghan nationals deported

Pakistan deported Afghan nationals back to their country on Tuesday.

These Afghan citizens had reached Quetta via the Chaman border after Taliban took over Kabul.

Over 200 Afghans, including women and children crossed into Pakistan from different points and reached Chaman. They spent a few days in Chaman by erecting tents near the Chaman Railway station.

These Afghans who belong to Kunduz province of Afghanistan reached Quetta and stayed in the Balili area on the outskirts of the provincial capital Quetta.

However, the officials did not allow them to stay and they were taken into custody on Tuesday before being sent back to Afghanistan via Chaman.

“These Afghan families were deported to Afghanistan as they entered into Pakistan illegally,” Commissioner Quetta Division Sohail-ur-Rehman Baloch told the media.

He added that until the Pakistan government makes a decision about the Afghan refugees, all Afghans who enter Pakistan illegally would be sent back.

“We came to Pakistan due to the worsening situation in Qandoz after Taliban’s control in Afghanistan,” an Afghan national Muhammad Essa told reporters, adding that the government should allow them to stay in their camps and give permission to work towards earning a livelihood.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2021.