ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Monday that its Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP) is in exercise of the country’s domestic laws and compliant with applicable international norms and principles, as the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called for suspension of forcible return of Afghan nationals.

“We have seen the press statement by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP) applies to all illegal foreigners residing in Pakistan, irrespective of their nationality and country of origin,” said Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch while responding to the OHCHR’s recent press statement.

She said that the decision is in exercise of Pakistan’s sovereign domestic laws, and compliant with applicable international norms and principles, adding that all foreign nationals legally residing/registered in Pakistan are beyond the purview of this Plan.

“The Government of Pakistan takes its commitments towards protection and safety needs of those in vulnerable situations with utmost seriousness. Our record of the last forty years in hosting millions of our Afghan brothers and sisters speaks for itself,” she said.

The spokesperson said that the international community must scale up collective efforts to address protracted refugee situations through advancing durable solutions as a matter of priority.

“Pakistan will continue to work with our international partners to this end,” she added In a statement from Geneva, the OHCHR said: “We are extremely alarmed by Pakistan’s announcement that it plans to deport “undocumented” foreign nationals remaining in the country after 1 November, a measure that will disproportionately impact more than 1.4 million undocumented Afghans who remain in Pakistan.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023