Pak: Over 1,700 Afghan immigrants held in ongoing crackdown

KARACHI: In an ongoing nationwide crackdown on illegal immigrants, law enforcement agencies have apprehended more than 1,700 Afghan nationals in Karachi for residing without valid documents, Dawn reported.

The caretaker Home Minister retired Brigadier Haris Nawaz, disclosed this information while also announcing plans for the deportation of all undocumented immigrants living in Sindh.

Also on Monday, the Sindh government utilised the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance to detain Noorullah Tareen, the provincial president of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), for 30 days, citing his alleged role in "instigating public disturbances," according to Dawn.

However, PTM maintained that Tareen was raising his voice against the arrests of Afghan refugees having valid documents.

Retired Brigadier Haris Nawaz, addressing the media at the DIG-West office, stated that the government is devising a mechanism to protect registered immigrants from detention, emphasizing that different committees, including SSPs, deputy commissioners, and representatives of various institutions, are being formed to collectively combat illegal immigration, Dawn reported.

Nawaz confirmed that approximately 1,700 illegal Afghan immigrants have been detained in Karachi, and he outlined plans to repatriate them via buses through the Chaman border crossing.

He assured that registered Afghan nationals would not face any action. Regarding the city's law and order situation, the interim home minister detailed the government's special policing strategy aimed at curbing street crimes.

To a question, the home minister said that he believed that the Pakistan cricket team should not have been sent to India. He said that now the security of the team was the responsibility of Indian authorities.

PTM leader Muhammad Ullah said his party was considering filing a petition before the Sindh High Court against the order to detain Tareen for 30 days at Karachi Central Prison.

He clarified that the PTM was not against the law enforcers' action against 'illegal' Afghans. He alleged that the police had been arresting Afghan refugees with legal documentation and subsequently releasing them after receiving bribes, Dawn reported.