KHYBER: Amid the government’s ultimatum for all undocumented immigrants to leave Pakis­tan by the end of October, 30 Afghan families have returned to their country via the Torkham border crossing over the last couple of days.

Though immigration officials termed it a ‘routine affair’, independent sources attributed the sudden rise in return of Afghan families to the government’s ultimatum.

Sources close to the development said the number of volunteer returnees considerably reduces with the advent of winter in Afghanistan, but the new policy about the illegal aliens has accelerated this process.

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They said the numbers would rise with the deadline nearing as most Af­­ghan families residing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are contemplating going back to their home country. Law enforcement age­nc­ies have already launched a crackdown on the unre­gistered Afghans, they added.

Customs officials at To­­rkham said they were as­­sisting the returning families in their immigration process and clearan­ce of personal belongings.

Meanwhile, the deputy commissioner of Kh­­y­ber in a statement said that 23,000 Afghans, currently residing in different parts of Khyber, were duly registered with the Afghan Com­missionerate.

According to the statement, 18,000 of these Af­­ghans were in possession of the Afghan Citizen Car­ds while another 5,600 had been issued Proof of Registration cards.

The DC said while these figures had been provided to them by the Afghan Commissionerate, they had no data about the unregistered Afghans living in Khyber.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2023