PESHAWAR: With the government-ordained deadline for the expulsion of illegal foreign nationals looming, provincial and federal authorities across the country say they have finalised preparations to round up all those who do not leave the country voluntarily.

“After the November 1 deadline, there will be no compromise on the issue of the expulsion of illegal immigrants,” caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said on Sunday.

Separately, a spokesperson for the KP Home and Tribal Affairs Depart­ment told APP that between Oct 1 and Oct 23, approximately 33,555 undocumented Afghan immigrants had left the country through Khyber district.

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According to PPI, 149 families returned to Afghanistan in 174 trucks during the last 24 hours.

An official from the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees in Peshawar told APP that over 1.5 million Afghan nati­onals had entered Pakistan after August 15, 2021, when the Afg­han Taliban took control of Kabul.

He said almost half of these were registered with UNHCR, seeking resettlement in Europe, UK, United States and other countries, while the rest remained undocumented.

The official said most of the undocume­nted Afghan nationals lived in Peshawar, Karachi and Mardan.

Meanwhile, giving details of the repatriation plan for those immigrants who would be held in ‘holding centres’, Sarfraz Bugti said that the process of deportation for such people would begin anywhere between one to four weeks.

He said the authorities have been clearly directed to treat all inmates in a dignified manner, especially women, children and the elderly, who should be treated with respect and provided with meals and medical facilities.

He clarified that during the first phase, those with no valid documents will be repatriated, and those who illegally procured Pakistani national identity cards or passports through Nadra will also be expelled following the cancellation of their identity documents.

Afterwards, he said, even those with Proof of Registration (POR) cards would be sent back since conditions had improved in their home country.

The interior minister said that the authority was working round the clock, and the government had done geo-fencing and identified areas where illegal immigrants were residing.

2 killed in accident

Separately, at least two people, among them a woman, were killed and over a dozen others were injured, including children and women, on Sunday when a Peshawar-bound truck carrying Afghan refugees and their belongings overturned on the GT Road, near Hazro.

According to police, Rescue 1122, and hospital officials, the ill-fated trailer was carrying five Afghan refugee families from Sangjani to Afghanistan via Peshawar when the vehicle driver lost control of the vehicle and it overturned after hitting a pedestrian bridge.

The dead and injured were shifted to THQ hospital Hazro, while four people were referred onwards to Rawalpindi due to the severity of their injuries. Most of the injured have head injuries.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2023