A province in Pakistan is using arrests and deportations as a means of combating illegal immigration. People living on the Pakistan-Afghan border are demonstrating against the new travel visa regulations. The deportation of Afghans who are unlawfully residing in Pakistan has significantly decreased as a result of the crackdown. Pakistan has prevented citizens of a border town from traveling back and forth between the two nations. They are requesting that Pakistan permit them to keep utilizing the special permissions.
According to officials on Thursday, a province in Pakistan is establishing goals for police to apprehend and expel hundreds of thousands of Afghans who are living there illegally. This action is part of a national crackdown that follows a significant decrease in the deportation of Afghans who were residing in Pakistan without authorization.
Locals were protesting against new travel visa restrictions at the Chaman border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which they said would reduce illicit immigration and cause traffic disruptions.
Background Information; deportation
The Afghan Taliban has been a significant factor in the migration of Afghan nationals to Pakistan since the Soviet invasion in 1979. The Pakistani government attributes the surge in violence to the Afghan Taliban providing safe harbor to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which organized several of these attacks. As of October 2023, around 4.4 million Afghan nationals remained in Pakistan, many of whom were born and raised in Pakistan.
On October 2023, Pakistan’s National Action Plan mandated that all illegally residing foreign nationals must leave or face deportation. 100,000-165,000 Afghans voluntarily left, with Afghan citizens orchestrating a significant portion of suicide bombings.
Arrangements of deportation
The Foreigners Act, of 1946, has been implemented by the Ministry of Interior to deport illegal aliens across Pakistan. Law enforcement officials have been deployed and a hotline has been launched. 49 holding areas have been established across Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Islamabad.
Pakistani Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti has directed authorities to treat undocumented migrants with respect, threatening those involved in aiding or renting homes with prosecution.
What is the purpose of the government’s actions?
The Afghan Taliban has been accused of providing safe harbor to fighters belonging to the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is ideologically aligned with the Afghan Taliban, leading to a surge in violence in Pakistan, particularly in the northwestern provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
The Pakistani government has been a target of the TTP, who have launched over 300 attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province since reneging on a peace accord in November. The recent attacks, which killed over 60 people and wounded dozens, have intensified the situation. Kabul has denied the allegations, stating that security concerns in Pakistan are not related to Afghans.
What is Afghanistan’s reaction to the ruling?
The interim Afghan government led by the Taliban gave a stinging rebuke of Pakistan’s announcement, calling it “unacceptable”. The Pakistani government, under the leadership of Zabihullah Mujahid, has been urged to reconsider a controversial decision made by the Pakistani government.
Pakistan has sent a high-level delegation to Kabul for negotiations, urging the Afghan Taliban to improve border controls, and Afghan refugees are not involved in Pakistan’s security issues, as per a tweet. The two countries share a 2,640 km-long border, traversing rugged mountains, densely forested valleys, and narrow rock passages, making it difficult to control due to its porous topography.
What is the number of refugees in Pakistan and where do they reside?
Afghan nationals make up over 95% of Pakistani refugees, both documented and undocumented. The first influx occurred after the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, resulting in over three million Afghans fleeing to Pakistan, many returning home.
Afghan refugees have been fleeing to Pakistan since the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in 2021, with over 600,000 Afghans reportedly living in the country. The UNHCR reports 1.3 million Afghan refugees, with 50% in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and 24% in Balochistan. The Taliban’s invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and subsequent invasions have further exacerbated the situation.
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