Deportation drive: Taliban minister threatens Pakistan of ‘consequences’

Mullah Yaqub accuses Islamabad of not sending Afghan refugees with due dignity they deserve

Amid Pakistan's ongoing drive to deport illegal immigrants, including Afghan nationals, a purported audio clip has emerged, where the Acting Defense Minister of the Taliban government, Mullah Muhammad Yaqub Mujahid, has issued a stern warning to Pakistan, urging them to consider the consequences of their deportation efforts before taking “unilateral actions”.

In the audio clip, Mujahid called on the Pakistani authorities not to mistreat Afghan nationals and accused them of seizing the personal property and assets of Afghan citizens. He emphasized that such actions would be questioned and that the Taliban would use all their resources to prevent it, vowing not to allow anyone to confiscate the personal property of Afghan refugees, Tolo News reported.

Furthermore, Mullah Mujahid urged the international community, the United Nations, and other organisations to exert pressure on Pakistan to bring an end to the current situation concerning the refugees. He criticised Pakistan for not ensuring that Afghan refugees are sent back to their homeland with the dignity they deserve.

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"Even though it sends the refugees to their country, they [refugees] should be sent to the country with dignity and return to their homeland," he stated. The Afghan minister expressed concerns that the ongoing situation was severely damaging the relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“So, the Pakistani regime should think of the consequences of whatever it is doing. It should plant as much as it will be able to reap,” he asserted.

Pakistan's northwestern border crossing has been flooded with thousands of people looking to cross into Afghanistan after the government’s deadline expired for undocumented foreigners to leave or face expulsion on November 1.

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Pakistani authorities had begun rounding up undocumented foreigners, most of them Afghans, hours before Wednesday's deadline. More than a million Afghans could have to leave or face arrest and forcible expulsion as a result of the ultimatum delivered by the Pakistan government a month ago.

Scrambling to cope with the sudden influx, the Taliban-run administration in Afghanistan said temporary transit camps had been set up, and food and medical assistance would be provided, but relief agencies reported dire conditions across the border.