GUJRANWALA, Oct 18: A police crackdown is underway on Afghan nationals and seminary students who have not registered themselves with the authorities here. As a result, most of Afghan nationals and students have disappeared, it is learnt.

At least 283 seminaries are working in Gujranwala and only 135 of them are registered. Thousands of students from Swat, Hazara, Charsadda, Malakand and Afghanistan are studying in the 148 unregistered seminaries for the last many years. It is said that 64,000 students were on the rolls in these seminaries, while about 20,000 Afghan nationals were living in various parts of the city. Of them, only 6,000 Afghan nationals are registered.

Regional Police Officer Zulfiqar Ahmad Cheema has told all such people to get registered or face stern action.

DEPORTEES: The Federal Investigation Agency’s Passport Cell in Gujranwala arrested 360 people deported by Turkey from Islamabad airport on Saturday.

According to the FIA, these people belong to Gujrat, Kharian, Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot and Gujranwala. Human traffickers extorted Rs100,000 to Rs500,000 each from them to send them to Turkey and Greece and handed them to sub-agents in Turkey. These people were staying in Turkish hotels when police arrested them and deported.

The Italian government on Sunday last deported Khalid Hussain of Wazirabad, his wife Kishwar Naheed and children Luqman and Waleed.

Human traffickers had extorted Rs2.5 million from Hussain to send him and his family abroad. The FIA claimed that two of the people who received money from Hussain had been arrested.

UPGRADATION: Wazirabad Tehsil Headquarters Hospital will be upgraded from existing 60 beds to 120 beds and its budget for medicines will also be increased, District Coordination Officer Dr Pervaiz Ahmad said at a free eye camp at the hospital. He said the government was taking steps to provide better medical facilities and free medicines to patients at all state-run hospitals.

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