Pindi to arrest 24,000 undocumented Afghans

Divisional admin says over 10,000 refugees in Attock district

RAWALPINDI:

Over 24,000 undocumented Afghan nationals were found living in the Rawalpindi division as per data compiled by district authorities, with the commissioner issuing instructions to identify a location to gather them before deportation.

One week is left before the October 31 deadline issued by the Pakistani government ordering undocumented Afghans to return to their country or face legal action.

Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaqat Ali Chatha issued the instructions following a committee meeting to ensure implementation of the October 31 deadline. Regional Police Chief Khurram Ali and deputy commissioners of the districts, senior police officers and representatives of intelligence agencies attended the meeting.

The meeting was informed that the final list of data of foreign nationals residing in the division was in the final stage. According to the data collected so far, the number of undocumented foreigners was said to 24,018.

Of those, around 12,000 were residing in the Rawalpindi district, 10,000 were said to be in Attock district, 1,200 in Chakwal district and 818 people in Jhelum district.

The commissioner instructed his deputies in the districts as well as the district police officers (DPOs) of the four districts to submit their final list after tallying with counterparts in security agencies for their respective regions.

He also instructed them to identify specific locations ‘to gather such foreigners’.

The RPO said that the crackdown would be fair and just with those undocumented illegally not allowed to stay in the country. He added that failure to leave the country by the deadline would result in legal action under the Foreigners Act.

RPO Ali added that Afghan nationals who were currently under trial or had been convicted of serious crimes would not be deported. However, those charged with minor crimes would be deported.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2023.