Fake Pakistani passports and implications for national security

Authorities get hold of Afghans at airports before they can depart for Gulf countries with fake passports

The news that Afghans are procuring fake Pakistani passports in bulk is not a new development. However, it has intensified over the last two years as already indicated in the media. Saudi Arabia has already recovered 12,000 such fake Pakistani passports from Afghan nationals.

A 12-member committee at the federal level is already investigating the issue but I am sure only lower-grade employees would be netted even though this lucrative business has been going on in Islamabad for decades under the patronage of almost every stakeholder who is responsible for protecting the country from illegal foreigners.

Meanwhile, Pakistani authorities are getting hold of many Afghans at airports before they can depart for Gulf countries, particularly the UAE, with fake Pakistani passports. The situation is so serious that the interim government has involved top intelligence agencies to probe the issue. This is all done because civil and military leadership have a firm resolve to save the country from total collapse. What would be the fate of this resolve when the interim government hands over the country to elected representatives remains to be seen. With such a strong corrupt administration and avaricious political cadre, I fear we do not have a permanent solution.

A massive crackdown was expected against illegal aliens on the expiry of the October 31, 2023 deadline for voluntary exit from Pakistan. But the government is facing criticism from civil society organisations, also known as liberal left, for repatriating the Afghans back to their country.

There is need to sincerely review the multi-dimensional issues being faced by Pakistan due to the presence of illegal foreigners. It is not difficult to find that every such individual has the capacity and skills to abuse the Pakistani system and play havoc with its reputation, economy and society because Pakistan has been running on “norms” and “customs” instead of rules. The best example is the traffic of Afghans to and from Pakistan who had broad access due to the “Rahdari system”. They did not need travel documents, passports or visas to enter Pakistan because it was the “norm” and “custom” at the Pak-Afghan border. Moreover, this practice was cunningly linked to “ethnicity” issue and the state of Pakistan was bound to “respect” this “ethnic sensitivity”.

Many of my friends working at responsible positions in Gulf states believe that one of the reasons behind constituting a special committee to review the issue of illegal passports and national identity cards (CNIC) bought by Afghans and the crackdown on illegally residing Afghans is that a dangerous situation may emerge for Pakistanis living in Gulf countries. The issue of fake Pakistani passports obtained by Afghans has now become a serious nuisance for Gulf countries and they can launch a campaign to verify every Pakistani passport and such a situation may affect even bona fide Pakistani expats.

The issue of fake Pakistani passports may not be very important for those who live in Pakistan but for people like me who live abroad, it is a very sensitive issue because whenever any Afghan having a fake Pakistani identity is found involved in illegal businesses, we have no justification to tell people that he or she is not a Pakistani but an Afghan. Unfortunately, our state institutions in the past had never taken this issue seriously because of the “Muslim brotherhood” mantra. Even when, the situation has got due attention, our civil society is opposing the state’s decision of legalising foreigners according to international law.

When Afghan jihad was launched, our civil society had one genuine reservation: they feared destruction of our cultural and social fabric although Afghan refugees were allowed to stay in Pakistan on humanitarian grounds. The liberal left fought so hard for 40 years to get the Zia era wrongs undone. But now when this objective seems achievable, they are like following Zia-ul Haq’s Rah-e-Haq and Rah-e-Nejat doctrine. This shift may be appropriate for them but it would surely help undo what Zia did wrong with this nation.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2023.

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