Illegal aliens hide in brick kilns to escape crackdown
Police escorting suspected illegal Afghan nationals during government's campaign to evict illegal foreigner from Pakistan. PHOTO: REUTERS
In a startling revelation, a significant presence of illegal Afghan nationals has been exposed residing in brick kilns across various regions.
The brick kiln owners had provided shelter to these individuals to engage them in labour without legal documentation, a fact veiled until recently.
The brick kilns, acting as makeshift settlements, accommodated a total of 116 undocumented Afghan residents, including women, children and men.
The police discovered 31 individuals at Bhatta Khush, 58 at Dholan and 27 at Pirochak. These Afghan nationals were unlawfully living and working in these kilns.
The Bhatta administration had surreptitiously facilitated the Afghan residents, concealing
them within the kilns where they resided, worked, and ate.
The illegal residents have now been relocated to the Sialkot Hockey Stadium camp under police custody.
A case has been registered against the brick kiln owners who provided refuge to the illegal Afghan residents.
The police have initiated legal proceedings against both the kiln owners and the Afghan nationals, demanding legal documentation, visas, and proof of residence in Pakistan.
Read Illegal aliens arrested at brick kiln
Despite the attempts to establish legal grounds for their stay, none of the Afghan residents could provide substantial evidence of their residence in Pakistan.
Consequently, all individuals under investigation have been shifted to the Sialkot Hockey Stadium camp.
In a simultaneous operation in Bajwa near Pasrur, the police apprehended 75 illegal Afghan nationals from two brick kilns.
The detainees are currently under police custody, awaiting further legal action.
The search operation conducted by the SHO Motorway, Field Staff of Motorway Police, Special Branch, and Security Branch revealed the extent of the illegal settlement of Afghan nationals in these brick kilns.
The authorities have intensified efforts to relocate undocumented foreign nationals to their home country, and the Sialkot Hockey Stadium camp serves as a temporary facility for such operations.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 12th, 2023.