KABUL: The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has reacted to Pakistan’s refugees repatriation decision to repatriate illegal Afghan nationals, urging Islamabad to reconsider its stance.
The caretaker government on Tuesday, directing all illegal immigrants, including 1.73 million Afghan nationals, to leave the country by November 1 or face expulsion thereafter.
Zaibullah, the central spokesperson of the Afghan Taliban, in a post on social media platform X, expressed dissatisfaction with the treatment of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, labeling it as unacceptable.
په پاکستان کې له افغان مهاجرینو سره چلند د منلو نه دی.
باید پاکستانی لوری په دې اړوند په خپل پلان باندې له سره غور وکړي.
افغان مهاجرین د پاکستان په امنیتي ستونزو کې لاس نه لري.
تر څو پورې چې افغان مهاجرین پخپله خوښه او آرام سره له پاکستانه را وځي، ترهغو باید هغه هیواد زغم وکړي.— Zabihullah (..ذبـــــیح الله م ) (@Zabehulah_M33) October 4, 2023
He said in his tweet that Pakistan should reconsider its Afghan refugees repatriation plan in this regard”, he said in the tweet
Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti disclosed that 14 out of 24 suicide bombings in the country in 2023 were carried out by Afghan nationals. In a tweet, Zaibullah urged the Pakistani side to reconsider its plan, asserting that Afghan refugees have no involvement in Pakistan’s security problems. The tweet emphasized that as long as Afghan refugees voluntarily and peacefully leave Pakistan, they should be tolerated by the country.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar chaired a meeting of the Apex Committee of the National Action Plan, attended by Chief of Army Staff Gen Syed Asim Munir, cabinet members, provincial police chiefs, and top officials of relevant departments. The committee unanimously decided that all non-citizen residents unlawfully living in Pakistan must depart by October 31, 2023.
A press release issued after the meeting stated that federal and provincial authorities will take all necessary measures to apprehend and lawfully deport foreign nationals residing unlawfully from November 1, 2023.
Pakistan currently hosts 1.2 million registered Afghan refugees holding Pakistan Origin Cards and Proof of Registration Cards. Moreover, there are 800,000 illegal refugees who sought refuge in Pakistan following the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in August 2012, taking the total number of unregistered Afghan refugees to 1.37 million.
Meanwhile, Pakistan authorities claimed that they have arrested at least 782 Afghan individuals between September 9 and October 3
