Afghans' expulsion hastened

Businesses of legal residents to be taxed, govt to launch combing operation

LAHORE:

A renewed push to deport illegal Afghan residents from Punjab against the backdrop of deadly border clashes worries not only migrants but also the Pakistani Pakhtun community subjected to scrutiny to prove their identity.

During a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, it was announced that a whistleblower system would be introduced to report the presence of illegal migrants, with the identity of informants kept confidential. The government will also launch a combing operation against illegal residents and their businesses, while those found without legal status will be deported in line with the federal policy.

According to an official announcement, the Punjab government decided to bring Afghan nationals into the tax net. Talking to The Express Tribune, the Punjab information minister clarified that the Afghan nationals having legal permission to stay in Pakistan would not be allowed to continue businesses without paying taxes. All Afghans legally residing and doing business in Pakistan will have to pay taxes.

According to the statistics of the home department, around 65,000 Afghan nationals have already been deported to their homeland, while the action is ongoing.

The crackdown has, however, proven to be worrying for the Pakistani Pakhtuns as areas inhabited by them have faced repeated combing operations.

The constant peeve of proving their identity everywhere has apparently brought some of them at odds with their Pakhtun brothers from Afghanistan "I want all the Afghans to be thrown out of Pakistan as early as possible," said Gulzeb Khan, a businessman from Lahore Cantt and a member of Pakhtun Welfare Association.

"It is because of them that Pakhtun dominated areas go through combing operations frequently. Even at check posts, we are made to prove our national identity, even where others are allowed to go through," he added.

He said the preparation of every document from the national identity card to passport and birth certificate had been made difficult for the community.

The community leader said his wife had lost her NIC and now the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) was asking her to prove her nationality for re-issuing it. He said he was facing the same problem regarding his youngest child.

On the other hand, Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan feel that deporting them after living here for three generations is a travesty of justice.

Moeen Khan, a labourer at Azam Cloth Market, said that he and his family had been living here for the past 60 years. He has no one back in Afghanistan although his family was originally from Bagram in Parwan province.

He said he was born in Pakistan and is 37 years old. The labourer said life was very difficult for him.

He shared that he was recently travelling to Lahore from Batakhela along with his family, including a son and two daughters between the ages of four and six years when the police asked them to get off the bus during checking at Babu Sabu, an entry point of the city, He alleged that he paid Rs500 to police personnel to save his family on the advice of the bus driver.

The migrant said that every time he or any of his mates was caught, he was told after showing his Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) to go back to his country.

"We ask them where is that? We love Pakistan and feel that both countries should live like brothers. This country has given us shelter and provided us opportunities to earn a living. Why would we be against them?"