Illegal Afghan immigrants told to leave Peshawar
Nearly 400,000 Afghan immigrants live in Peshawar, provincial govt cannot bear burden anymore, says Peshawar DCO.
PESHAWAR:
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has asked Afghan immigrants living illegally in Peshawar to leave within a month, Peshawar DCO Siraj Ahmed Khan has said.
“Nearly 400,000 illegal Afghan immigrants live in Peshawar and the provincial government cannot bear the burden anymore,” Khan told a press conference on Wednesday. “They must leave by May 25.”
Once the deadline lapses, illegal immigrants that continue to live in Peshawar will be imprisoned and deported through the Pak-Afghan border at Torkham. “At the moment, we have implemented Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code on Afghan citizens in the city but after the deadline they will be treated under Section 188.”
He said that currently, the deadline is only applicable to the provincial capital but after the deportation of illegal immigrants from the city, it will be extended to other parts of the province.
Khan said that committees were operating on a micro level in Peshawar to collect data about illegal Afghan immigrants and will be able to evacuate them after one month.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 26th, 2012.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has asked Afghan immigrants living illegally in Peshawar to leave within a month, Peshawar DCO Siraj Ahmed Khan has said.
“Nearly 400,000 illegal Afghan immigrants live in Peshawar and the provincial government cannot bear the burden anymore,” Khan told a press conference on Wednesday. “They must leave by May 25.”
Once the deadline lapses, illegal immigrants that continue to live in Peshawar will be imprisoned and deported through the Pak-Afghan border at Torkham. “At the moment, we have implemented Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code on Afghan citizens in the city but after the deadline they will be treated under Section 188.”
He said that currently, the deadline is only applicable to the provincial capital but after the deportation of illegal immigrants from the city, it will be extended to other parts of the province.
Khan said that committees were operating on a micro level in Peshawar to collect data about illegal Afghan immigrants and will be able to evacuate them after one month.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 26th, 2012.