Afghan migrants found involved in political activities to face deportation: Pak caretaker minister

Islamabad [Pakistan]: Pakistan Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said that any Afghan living legally in the country if found involved in political activities will face deportation, Pakistan-based Dawn reported. 

While addressing a press conference on Friday, Bugti said that the Pakistan caretaker government had created a new policy for legal Afghan residents and refugees with Afghan citizen cards or other relevant identification. 

Sarfraz Bugti said, “They cannot participate in any political activity in Pakistan, they have nothing to do with Pakistan’s politics. Around 10 people have been identified initially, and the number is growing [of those] involved in political activities and they are being deported.” 

He said that policy will be implemented against all categories of Afghans with legal documentation, including those with business or tourist visas. He further said that “visa holders from other countries or those on a business visa or any other visa or with any other status” will be expelled if they engage in political activities. 

Bugti said that such individuals will be deported at the earliest. He said the Pakistan caretaker government was searching for such individuals and added that he would provide an updated count within a week. 

He said, “Pakistanis have to engage in politics, we have the right to politics and we will carry it out while remaining within the Constitution,” according to Dawn report. 

He announced that 482,845 people have left Pakistan through various borders under the Pakistan government’s deportation drive, with 90 per cent or more returning voluntarily. 

Sarfraz Bugti stated that the first phase of the deportation drive was being conducted and added that “ultimately everyone has to go back in the second stage […] Finally, the time is coming when only Pakistanis will live in Pakistan.” He said those who wished to come to Pakistan will have to do so legally. 

Earlier in November, the Pakistan caretaker government initiated a nationwide campaign to deport illegal foreign nationals, the majority of whom are Afghans. Pakistan’s decision prompted criticism from Afghanistan and several other nations, Dawn reported. 

Of the more than four million Afghans living in Pakistan, the Pakistan government estimates that 1.7 million Afghans do not have documents. So far, thousands of Afghans have headed back to Afghanistan through the Torkham and Chaman border crossings. 

Earlier in November, the United Nations voiced concern about the welfare of Afghan citizens who have arrived in Afghanistan amid Pakistan’s deportation of Afghan refugees and called for the suspension of the expulsion of Afghan refugees, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported. 

UN called on the Pakistan government to halt the expulsion of more than one million Afghan refugees, at least during the winter season. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees stressed that Pakistan should halt the expulsion of Afghan refugees. 

According to the Khaama Press report, the UN has raised concerns as Pakistani authorities have announced their intention to continue the expulsion of one million illegal refugees residing in Pakistan.