ISLAMABAD: Following the federal government’s large-scale operation launched on April 3 against illegal Afghan immigrants, the repatriation of Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders and other undocumented Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan is underway through the Torkham border.
According to the Home and Tribal Affairs Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), a total of 350 Afghan families were repatriated on Friday.
The repatriated group included 155 families from Gujrat and 195 from Sargodha, who had arrived directly from Punjab and were sent back to Afghanistan after fulfillment of requisite formalities.
Undocumented Afghan DPs: deportation deadline extended
Officials said, on Saturday, over 173 unregistered 142 Afghan families from Faisalabad and 31 from Hafizabad were sent back home via Torkham.
Immigration officials at Torkham disclosed on the condition of anonymity that all the deported families had travelled directly from Punjab and were allowed to cross the border after completing the necessary procedures.
The government had set March 31st deadline for the repatriation of unregistered and undocumented ACC holders while the formal process started from April 3 due to Eidul Fitr holidays. Many of the Afghan nationals expressed dissatisfaction with the sudden implementation of the deportation orders.
The Afghan authorities had repeatedly requested Pakistan to review the decision and extend the deadline for repatriation but Pakistan declined to entertain it.
The repatriated families said the abrupt move had disrupted their livelihoods and the education of their children. Several deportees urged the government to extend the deadline to allow them to manage their movable and immovable assets before returning to Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, a NADRA official stated a ‘holding centre’ established in Landi Kotal to facilitate the repatriation process is expected to become operational next week to accommodate maximum numbers of Afghan families. After the deadline given by the government for the repatriation of Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan expired, Islamabad police have begun a crackdown on illegal Afghan migrants.
On Friday, Islamabad police launched a crackdown on Afghan residents living in slums of Sector F-12 in Islamabad. During the operation, dozens of Afghans were taken into custody and transferred to the Haji Camp temporary holding centre.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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