Around 300 illegal Afghans rounded up for repatriation in Karachi: Authorities

KARACHI: Authorities in Karachi have so far rounded up around 300 illegal Afghans to move them to a holding camp after it launched an operation to repatriate them to their country.

“We are following orders of the interior ministry and many Afghans who had Proof of Registration (POR) cards instead of ACC were released,” South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Syed Asad Raza said.

Since Friday around 300 Afghans holding Afghan Citizenship Cards (ACC), which expire soon, or those without any documentation were brought to the holding facility, Raza said.

He said searches were being conducted daily in Karachi, which has the largest concentration of legal and illegal Afghans, as the law enforcement agencies were directed to enforce the government's decision to repatriate undocumented foreign nationals.

According to official data, the operation targets an estimated 16,138 individuals.

Haji Abdullah, the head of the Afghans living in the densely populated Afghan Basti on the outskirts of Karachi, said many Afghans voluntarily returned home or went to some other country ever since the new government policy was initiated last September.

“It has become a tense situation for many of us as we fear the authorities will come knocking at our door at any time of the day. Many feel best to return home and face the situation there,” he said.

Abdulah said many Afghans were involved in businesses including shops, transport and trade, and around 250 Afghan families had already returned home after winding up their businesses.

The United Nations experts have called on the Pakistan government to halt the illegal foreigners' repatriation plan which has caused a problem for Afghan nationals who fled their country due to the conflict and the presence of the Taliban.

Pakistan said it was only repatriating illegal Afghan nationals without proper documentation.

The government had set a deadline of March 31 for Afghan nationals without proper documentation, including those holding Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC), to leave Pakistan.

The government announced the launch of an operation on April 1 to repatriate illegal foreigners.

A senior police official said many Afghans were found involved in criminal activities in Karachi, the most populous city in Pakistan.

Under the National Database and Registration Authority's national re-verification and renewal campaign, dozens of Afghans had their Pakistani identity cards cancelled, the official said.