ISLAMABAD – The Pakistan government directed all Afghan nationals living in the country without documents must leave by November 1, and thousands flocked to the Pak-Afghan border to return home as the deadline expires today.
Islamabad said the repatriation drive aimed to remove Afghans who are involved in illegal activities in the South Asian nation. To remove undocumented Afghans from the country, the government has formed detention centers in all four provinces to hold foreigners and to send them back forcefully.
As most of them are returning home, some are awaiting resettlement to the US, UK, Germany, Canada, and other European states.
Last month, the government said that all migrants living without legal status in the country had 28 days (around a month’s time) to leave voluntarily or face deportation.
Since the announcement, over 2 lac Afghan immigrants have voluntarily moved back to their countries from the Torkham border, and other crossings.
Reports in media suggest that nearly four million foreigners live in Pakistan, and a vast majority of them are Afghan nationals who sought refuge over the last four decades following Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 80s.
In recent years, around 0.8 million Afghans migrated to Pakistan after the Taliban takeover.
