400 foreign students studying in Punjab seminaries to be deported: Shahbaz Sharif

Says Afghan immigrants without permit will also be sent back; new counter-terrorism force to are provided helicopters

LAHORE: Four hundred foreign students studying in different madrassas across Punjab without local documentation will be deported soon, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif told reporters on Wednesday. 

He added that a list of these students has been sent to the federal government.

Addressing a press conference at the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Model Town Secretariat along with Punjab Cabinet ministers and top government officials, the chief minister said his government would use all means and resources to end the menace of terrorism and extremism from the province.

“It’s a high-time to end terrorism. It’s now or never. All those Afghan immigrants who don’t have a permit will also be sent back,” he said. “We are importing 1,000 biometric machines which would be linked to the NADRA database and can verify if a person is a Pakistani citizen or not.”

He said hundreds of elements who are supportive of terrorists or are involved in terrorism in anyway were arrested in the province, adding that matters of prosecution were also being completed quickly.

“A counter-terrorism force has been established … we are giving them bulletproof jackets and helicopters to fight terrorism,” he said.

A Quick Response Force and a Rapid Response Force have also been established, added Shahbaz.