Illegal Afghans start leaving Karachi

Eight buses with 600 illegal Afghans on board leave for Chaman daily

KARACHI:

Afghans living illegally in the metropolitan city have started leaving Pakistan following the government announcement to leave voluntarily by October 31 after which strict measures will be taken against them.

According to reports, illegal Afghan immigrants are evacuating their homes in several Afghan neighbourhoods within the city, including Sohrab Goth, Super Highway Afghan Basti, Kochi Camp, and Ittehad Town.

Sohrab Goth area, a squalid suburb of Karachi where Afghans dwell, including Al-Asif Square and several streets behind it. Moreover, a sizeable population of Afghans also resides in the vicinity of Namak Mandi, and Machar Colony.

The departing Afghan immigrants travel in buses primarily to the Chaman border in Balochistan before crossing into Afghanistan. From there, they head to different parts of their country, mostly to Kandahar, Ghazni, and Kabul.

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Sohrab Goth bus terminal witnesses a huge rush these days where Afghan immigrants and their families could be seen with their belongings booking tickets for Chaman border. The Karachi-Chaman journey costs Rs7,000 per passenger.

As an average, eight buses carrying around 600 illegal Afghans depart for Chaman daily. The manager of Bilal Kabul Transport, Haji Mohammad Khan, said that buses are departing daily, with a visible surge in departures on Sundays. "This past Sunday, around nine buses left, followed by 13 on Monday and Tuesday," he added.

"In the last three days, a total of 22 buses, carrying more than 1,800 Afghan nationals, have departed for Chaman," Khan said. "A large number of tickets for this week have been pre-booked."

The government, in a meeting of the apex committee on October 3, has set Oct 31 deadline for all illegal immigrants to leave the country. A huge crackdown followed the meeting, which was presided over by Caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar against these aliens, which triggered an angry response from the Taliban government in Kabul.

Read More: Pakistan to evict 1.1m illegal Afghan refugees

Beginning November 1, the federal and provincial law enforcement agencies will take all necessary measures to deport foreign nationals residing illegally in Pakistan. Businesses and assets owned by the foreign nationals living in violation of immigration laws will be seized, and individuals involved in illegal trade or aiding it will face severe penalties.

The federal government has declared that from Nov 1 entry into Pakistan without a passport and visa will be strictly prohibited. The ministry of interior has also formed a task force for an operation that will commence from Nov 1.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2023.